Eve-of-election Iran strike plan was scrapped after US tip-off

A last-minute halt to an Israeli operation against Iran occurred on the night before the October 27 election, according to a Channel 12 report aired on Friday. The unsourced broadcast claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Director Roman Gofman planned the strike. Other senior security officials reportedly opposed the move, fearing it would cause a major escalation and disrupt the vote. Planning continued despite this internal resistance until an error by an Israeli operative alerted the United States. Washington then acted to stop the mission.

The sequence of events began two days before the election. On October 25, Channel 12 reported that a sharp disagreement arose between Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The network said Netanyahu ordered an unspecified military action that defense officials believed could spark a conflict with Iran. Zamir resisted the order, demanding further review and signed legal documentation from the prime minister. A military source told the network, "This relates to an action that could lead to a flare-up with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating this [potential] miscalculation." Unnamed officials expressed concern that political leaders wanted to use the Iranian issue for political gain. Tensions were visible at a meeting at Palmahim Airbase, which one source described as having an "extremely sour" atmosphere. A senior security source added, "History will not forget the role that Zamir has played in recent days."

Netanyahu dismissed the October 25 report as "nonsense" in a Channel 14 interview that same night. He stated there was no fight with Zamir. He also said he had recently instructed the IDF and Mossad to topple the Iranian regime, though he did not link this remark directly to the specific order in dispute. On October 26, other outlets reported that Zamir was the only security chief to oppose the action sought by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The Prime Minister's Office denied the new Friday report. It stated: "The prime minister himself clarified in real time that an attack before the Israeli elections was not on the agenda." The report was broadcast under Israeli military censorship rules.

These revelations arrive as Qatari-mediated talks between the United States and Iran make progress. President Donald Trump is weighing new strikes, but he wants to give diplomacy more time. Netanyahu reportedly urged Trump to resume the war immediately after Tuesday's US midterm elections. Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday: "We've beaten Iran. We are doing very well with Iran. We're talking to Iran. We haven't lost a soldier in six or seven months." He also claimed on Truth Social that the Middle East would not exist today if he had not stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

The next major step is the continuation of the Qatari-mediated negotiations. Trump is expected to decide soon whether to resume strikes or allow the diplomatic track to continue.