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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s army chief Eyal Zamir clashed over a proposed military operation that could cause confrontation with Tehran ahead of elections in Israel, Anadolu reported, citing Israeli media.
The report said Zamir sought a detailed discussion of the proposed operation and signed legal authorisation from political leaders before proceeding.
However, the Israeli broadcaster did not disclose the nature of the operation.
The report cited concerns from Israel’s military leadership that escalating tensions with Iran could be exploited for electoral gain ahead of the October 27 parliamentary vote.
A security official warned that the proposed operation could quickly escalate into a confrontation with Iran, raising the risk of miscalculation at a particularly sensitive political and security juncture, Israeli media reported.
However, the Israeli PM rejected the report of any confrontation with Zamir, calling it “nonsense” during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 later on Sunday.
“There was no fight with Zamir,” he said.
Political officials also dismissed the claim that the Iranian issue was being used for electoral purposes.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that reports of a rift between Israel’s army and its civilian leaders over fresh action in the war with Iran were “entirely baseless”.
Katz characterised the report as an effort to cast doubt on the Netanyahu bloc’s judgement on the eve of close elections.
“The reports about gaps between the political echelon and the IDF (army) on the Iran issue are entirely baseless and false,” Katz said on X, insisting there was “complete” coordination between the two.
The outlet did not offer details of the directive, but cited sources saying there were concerns within the army that the war might be exploited for political gain.
Katz stated, “unequivocally that there was no intention on Israel’s part to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid referenced the report in a post on X Sunday, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to put off the vote.
“Tonight it was published that he wants to set off an escalation and a confrontation with Iran, just to postpone the elections,” he said.
“This man has lost his grip. We absolutely must send him home.”
Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, arguing that only he can finish the job in the US-Israeli war against Iran.
