Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had planned to strike Iran earlier this month, including civilian infrastructure, but was stopped by Donald Trump, who wanted to prioritise the November 3 midterm election before restarting the war, a report has said.
Trump had earlier, in a post on Truth Social, said he would not launch strikes on Iran until November 3.
The plan was ultimately scrapped for the time being, with Trump expressing reservations about starting a war before the key US midterm elections, the people said.
During the talks, Israeli officials presented an updated target list with places that were not bombed during the February attack and included civilian infrastructure. An Israeli official also said that US defence secretary Pete Hegseth travelled to the country on Monday and held talks with senior officials as well as Netanyahu. Netanyahu, meanwhile, released a video on Monday capturing his conversation with Trump, where he is heard telling the US President, “Donald, you said we have a job to finish, and we’ll finish it together. On Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister said that the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran was to topple its government.
Earlier reporting noted: Israel planned intense strikes against Iran on Oct 10, but Trump said no: Report Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu planned a fresh, more intense attack on Iran, but US President Donald Trump opposed the move ahead of the US midterm elections. Earlier reporting noted: Trump’s approval rating fell to a record low of 31 per cent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on October 20, as rising gasoline prices and concerns over the cost of living weighed on his popularity.
But both Trump and Netanyahu, who is also facing an election, have threatened to attack Iran and said that the US and Israel will “finish” the job of uprooting the regime. It was unclear if the US was supposed to join the new mission directly, but one of the people cited by FT said it was “not an unreasonable scenario” that the two countries would again pair up to attack Iran in the coming weeks. Earlier reporting noted: The report said it remained unclear whether the planned offensive would have involved direct US military participation or been carried out by Israel alone. One source suggested renewed strikes after the US and Israeli elections were possible, while another said the proposed operation could have been intended to pressure Tehran during negotiations.
