Trump Blocked Israeli Strike on Iran Due to Midterm Elections

The British newspaper “Financial Times” reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to resume large-scale strikes against Iran, having ordered the military earlier this month to draw up plans for a new, major attack—moves that carry the risk of plunging the region back into a full-scale war.

According to three informed sources, the Israeli military had prepared for a multi-day bombing campaign, scheduled to take place on the weekend of October 10, targeting civilian infrastructure such as power plants, alongside nuclear facilities and targets linked to the Iranian regime.

Ultimately, the operation was not carried out, as the same sources indicated that U.S. President Donald Trump opposed resuming the conflict ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for November 3.

Nevertheless, both Trump and Netanyahu—who is himself preparing for a tough electoral battle next week—continued to hint at launching a new attack against Iran, insisting that the United States and Israel must “finish the job” against the Iranian regime.

Sources told the newspaper that this bombing campaign aimed to surpass the intensity of the joint U.S.-Israeli strike against Iran last February.

While it remains unclear whether the United States would participate directly in the operation, one informed source noted that the prospect of Israel and Washington resuming strikes in the coming weeks “is not an unlikely scenario.”

The source said, “Either reach an agreement or launch an attack,” clarifying that the U.S. objective is to force Iran to accept Washington’s terms in an agreement concerning the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, thereby bringing the conflict to a complete end.

According to an Israeli official, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrived in Israel on Monday, where he held talks with Netanyahu and other senior officials.

One source, citing the “Financial Times,” stated that Israeli officials presented an updated list of targets inside Iran, based on new intelligence, which included civilian infrastructure not targeted earlier this year.

Another individual indicated that the operation proposed by the Israeli military earlier this month may have been part of an effort to “pressure Iran” in negotiations, emphasizing that the final decision to proceed with any renewed attack ultimately rests with the U.S. President.

The website Axios reported last week that Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump discussed the possibility of resuming large-scale combat operations against Iran before elections in both the United States and Israel.

Current and former Israeli security officials fear that launching a war in a timeframe very close to elections could seriously disrupt the democratic process, even if it occurs after Election Day.

The formation of a new government is expected to take weeks of arduous negotiations, during which Netanyahu would remain prime minister in a caretaker government, granting him—albeit precariously—legal authority to wage war, even if he loses the election.

However, such a move has few precedents in Israeli history, and it remains unclear how current security leaders would react if asked to resume large-scale operations against Iran in the coming weeks.

Proponents of Netanyahu have been appointed to head both the Shin Bet and Mossad, while the standing of the Israeli General Staff has declined, due to the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, as well as the ongoing attacks launched by right-wing media figures.