A former senior Canadian general said members of the Canadian military were likely involved in planning and coordinating the Iranian airstrike in exchange with the United States.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he supports U.S. action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking in Mumbai on Saturday during a four-day visit to India, he said Canada does not participate in the military as a nation and the federal government is “not involved in any arms buildup or military programs.”

However, his statement did not specifically mention the fate of foreign exchange officials currently serving in the U.S. military.

According to the Department of Defense’s website, as many as 18 Canadian military personnel are part of Foundation Operations, working at the U.S. 5th Fleet Command in Bahrain and the Joint Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Retired Maj. Gen. Dennis Thompson, who served as Canadian Task Force commander during the Afghanistan war and led multinational peacekeeping forces in the Sinai Peninsula, said it has been long-standing policy to include Canadian military personnel in interactions with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

“Unless the Canadian government says, ‘No, we can’t be directly involved in this conflict,’ … typically when we send officers to another military and they go to war and the prime minister supports this attack, there’s a very good chance that they’re actively involved in the targeting process,” Thompson told CBC News.

He said Canada has members from three branches of the Army, Navy and Air Force attached to CENTCOM, and “staff personnel are specifically located within a facility known as the Joint Aerospace Operations Center… so they will be directly involved in targeting decisions.”

Hundreds of attacks in the first few hours

The Pentagon was asked a series of questions by CBC News on Saturday, including whether Canadians continue to serve at U.S. military headquarters in Qatar and Bahrain, and in what capacity. It didn’t respond.

This is not the first time Canada has faced this kind of dilemma. Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s government chose not to take part in the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, but allowed more than 100 exchange officers serving with the US and British forces to remain on the ground and take part in deployments and operations.

American and Israeli warplanes have been conducting air operations since early Saturday morning, and the coalition launched nearly 900 strikes against Iranian targets in the first 12 hours, according to data from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to US officials who spoke to FOX News, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have attacked 500 targets inside Iran alone. The attacks occurred across 17 states in the country.

ISW, in a regular briefing late Saturday, pointed to an Axios report that cited senior U.S. officials as saying that the U.S. attack focused on Iran’s missile program and missile launchers, while the Israeli attack focused on Iranian officials and its missile program.

A massive explosion was reported in Tehran early Sunday, as the Israeli military confirmed it had resumed bombing raids on the Iranian capital.

Canada condemns retaliation against Gulf states

The attack came a day after the United States and Israel reported killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in an airstrike.

Iranian state television and state news agency IRNA confirmed the 86-year-old man’s death early Sunday. US President Donald Trump had announced his death hours earlier.

Iran has fired missiles at several neighboring Arab Gulf states, triggering a wave of explosions and sending people fleeing. These attacks can be widespread.

Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, where U.S. troops are stationed, reported intercepting Iranian missiles after Iran vowed to retaliate against the U.S.-Israeli operation.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said, “Canada stands with the Iranian people.” “We strongly condemn the Iranian regime’s attacks on our partners in the Middle East. These attacks must be stopped.”

Thompson said many of the long-range missiles Iran could use against Israel “have deteriorated as a result of past and current operations.”

But Iran has a large arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles, perhaps hundreds of them, of the kind that Tehran can fire at neighboring countries.

“If we try to eliminate all short-range ballistic missiles, we’re going to face significant challenges,” Thompson said. “A broader war could break out across the Middle East.”

He also referred to reports that the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff had warned the Trump administration that there could be a shortage of ammunition.

“One of the risks is that we will burn out a lot of our high-value defenses, such as Patriot missile batteries,” Thompson said.

That could have ramifications for Ukraine, he said.

“We need them more there. We need them in Ukraine to protect the Ukrainian people,” Thompson said. “If this war had not happened, we would have had the ability to deploy more interceptors to Ukraine and support the conflict with Russia.”