Netanyahu says there are signs Iran may attack to disrupt Israel's election and warns 'don't test us'; Iran says it is still exchanging messages with the US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday 25 October that Israel had “intelligence signs that Iran and its proxies could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections”. He spoke at an Arrow anti-ballistic missile battery, two days before Israelis vote on 27 October, The Times of Israel reported.

“The IDF is prepared in both defense and offense,” Netanyahu said. “I warn them. Don’t test us. You will suffer disproportionate blows.”

The military announced last week that Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had ordered a leave freeze for all units from 22 October and placed the army on its highest level of alert so that the election is held “on schedule and safely”, Ynetnews reported. Israel’s Channel 13 reported last week that Zamir had said in a private meeting that he saw no current operational need to strike Iran before the vote, according to The Times of Israel.

In Tehran on Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran “has never left the negotiating table” and that “messages are being conveyed via intermediaries” with the United States, the Iraqi News Agency reported. He said the obstacle was that the US “persists in holding onto its unilateral demands”, and that Iran remained “fully prepared to defend our territory”. Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz was not secure because the US and Israel had “misused this waterway”, and said Iran had no connection to alleged operations against air bases in Britain.

Background: The war between Iran and the US and Israel began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February. A US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place and Iran has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. See also: Istanbul ministers warn a new attack on Iran would widen the war.