CNN reports Netanyahu sought a joint strike on Iran before Israel's election and Trump asked him to wait; Netanyahu's office calls it 'fake news'

CNN reported on Monday 26 October that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressed for a joint US-Israeli strike on Iran before Israel’s general election on 27 October, and that President Donald Trump’s administration asked that any action wait until Washington was ready, The Times of Israel reported. CNN cited 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 source told CNN. According to the report, US officials indicated that joint operations could follow soon, and US forces had prepared strike options that could be launched within 96 hours of an order from Trump.

The Prime Minister’s Office called the report “fake news” without elaborating. Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “I state unequivocally that Israel had no intention of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel, while we have made clear that if Iran attacks Israel, we will respond with great force.”

Israel’s Channel 12 had reported on Sunday night that Netanyahu and military chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir clashed over an instruction for unspecified military action; Netanyahu denied that account. The military said on Monday that its considerations “are solely security-related, professional” and that “any other discourse is misleading and irrelevant”. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman said he had written to the attorney general asking her to open a criminal investigation into Netanyahu over the reports.

In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran “will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right to self-defense”.

Background: The war between Iran and the US and Israel began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February. A Pakistan- and Qatar-brokered deal in June to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iranian ports unravelled when attacks resumed. See also: Netanyahu says there are signs Iran may attack to disrupt Israel’s election.