Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed as "biased and inaccurate" a report that US President Donald Trump prevented him from launching an attack on Iran. His denial comes five days before Israelis vote in the October 27 Knesset election.
Netanyahu addressed the claim in an interview with Arutz Sheva. "It's an incorrect report. One day, the truth will come out," he said.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu had pushed for a large-scale offensive against Iran. In that account, the IDF was preparing a bombing campaign lasting several days over the weekend of October 10. The operation was shelved because Trump opposed renewing hostilities before the US midterm elections. The FT said the targets would have included power plants and other civilian infrastructure, along with nuclear facilities and regime sites. The strikes were expected to be heavier than those Israel and the US carried out at the start of their joint campaign in February.
The Jerusalem Post disputed that version, citing IDF sources. The sources said the army had no plan for an October 10 strike on Iran. They also said Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other government officials had not instructed the IDF to prepare one. The report's central claim, that Trump stopped an Israeli attack that was about to happen, was wrong because Israel was not on the verge of striking, the sources told the paper.
