Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports of a dispute with military chief Eyal Zamir over a potential operation linked to Iran, amid growing political tensions ahead of the October 27 parliamentary elections.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Sunday that Zamir had sought a detailed briefing and formal legal authorisation from the political leadership before carrying out its instructions. The broadcaster did not reveal the nature of the proposed operation.
According to the report, military officials were concerned that political leaders could use tensions with Iran to gain an electoral advantage ahead of the vote.
A security official reportedly warned that the operation could quickly escalate into a direct confrontation with Iran, increasing the risk of a miscalculation at a particularly sensitive time.
Netanyahu dismissed the reports during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Sunday, insisting that no confrontation had taken place.
“There is no confrontation,” he said.
Political officials also rejected allegations that the government was exploiting the Iranian issue for electoral purposes, according to Channel 12.
During the same interview, Netanyahu said he had instructed Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and military to work towards bringing down Iran’s government. However, the broadcaster said it could not establish whether the undisclosed operation was connected to those instructions.
Defence Minister Israel Katz also dismissed reports of disagreements between the country’s political leadership and military over possible renewed action against Iran.
In a statement posted on social media platform X on Monday, Katz described the reports as entirely baseless, asserting that coordination between the political leadership and the Israel Defense Forces remained complete.
He also stated that Israel had no intention of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of potentially using an escalation with Iran as a pretext to delay the parliamentary vote.
In a post on X on Sunday, Lapid alleged that the prime minister was seeking to trigger a confrontation with Iran to postpone the elections. He called for Netanyahu to be removed from office.
Netanyahu has also claimed that Iran has resumed its nuclear programme, presenting the upcoming election as a critical matter for Israel’s survival.
On Sunday, he shared an AI-generated image depicting a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv, accompanied by a warning about the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
Opposition politicians Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan criticised the prime minister over the post, accusing him of spreading fear and panic among the public ahead of the elections.
