Israel had been preparing in recent days for new strikes on Iran, but the United States asked it to hold off and signaled that the two countries would carry out a joint operation soon, CNN reported, citing two US officials and an Israeli security source.
“Netanyahu really wanted and tried to convince Trump for a joint attack in Iran before the elections, and Trump did not give a green light,” the Israeli security source told CNN.
One reason Trump declined, the source said, was a warning from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Zamir told Caine that an attack would harm Israel’s elections, which take place Tuesday, and lead to their postponement.
According to a third source briefed on the matter, Israel spent roughly the past week preparing for possible new attacks and lobbying US officials to back them. Senior US officials, including Trump, told Israel to wait. Israel appears to have accepted the delay, partly because it needs American help with missile defense. Iran and the Houthis would likely retaliate against any attack, and Israel’s stocks of interceptors have been strained during the war.
All of the sources said Israel has put off its immediate plans but is building up for joint operations with the United States, most likely after the US midterm elections on November 3.
The US military is ready to move quickly once the order comes. US forces in the Middle East can launch new, potentially major operations against Iran within 96 hours of an order from Trump, two US officials told CNN. “It will be a big effort,” one said. Some current and former officials familiar with the planning said the question is no longer whether Trump will give the order, but when. They believe it could come any time before the end of the year.
US intelligence assesses that Iran and the Houthis are taking the threat of renewed strikes very seriously. Any attack would likely trigger immediate retaliation against US personnel and facilities in the region, one reason the US is expected to pull more staff from its embassies. Officials believe neither Iran nor the Houthis is likely to strike preemptively at this stage.
Defense Minister Israel Katz denied the report’s framing, saying Israel “had no intention of launching an attack on Iran before Israel’s election.” He called reports of a rift between the government and the IDF over Iran “completely baseless and false.”
