Report Says Netanyahu and Army Chief Clashed Over Possible Iran Action Before Israeli Elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir have clashed over a possible military action that could reignite the conflict with Iran just days before Israel's elections, according to a report by N12 News on Sunday evening.

N12 reported that Zamir recently received a directive from the political echelon to carry out an operation. Security officials told the outlet it would "trigger a rapid escalation into a confrontation with Iran." Given how sensitive the step was, Zamir asked for an in-depth discussion and formal authorization before proceeding. Sources familiar with the matter said Zamir and other senior IDF figures worry that the political leadership may be trying to exploit the Iran front for political gain ahead of the vote.

Netanyahu denied the report late Sunday night. Speaking on Channel 14's The Patriots, he said "there is no confrontation" and accused someone of trying to obscure the fact that Zamir himself had said Iran was attempting to interfere in the elections.

The report fits a pattern described during the election season. US President Donald Trump and Zamir have each, at different moments, acted as a brake on Netanyahu's approach to a possible renewed conflict with Iran. According to the account, Netanyahu would have welcomed a US return to war with Iran in August, earlier in October and again more recently, and in some scenarios Israel was prepared to join. He may also have considered Israel taking a leading, first-attacker role, or acting as a spoiler against versions of a nuclear deal he would see as bad. Trump, though he has vacillated, has so far continued to pressure Tehran with a mix of military threats and economic measures.

Zamir, for his part, has kept Israel on a war footing against Iran if needed, but has read the word "necessary" narrowly before Election Day. Because earlier Israeli strikes set back Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, he sees no immediate existential threat. He has been prepared to attack only if Iran were readying a strike on Israel, or if Trump launched a new round of fighting with full US backing for offensive and defensive operations. He has also viewed action as potentially justified if Iran rapidly rebuilt its capabilities, or if a strike were part of a carefully considered strategy to push Tehran toward major nuclear concessions to Washington.

N12 also described "new lows" in the relationship between the two men. Netanyahu chose Zamir partly because Zamir had been his military secretary and was known for an aggressive approach to warfare. The prime minister partly alienated the chief by refusing to draft ultra-Orthodox men and by allowing Defense Minister Israel Katz to politicize some key military appointments. Zamir, in turn, partly alienated Netanyahu by slowing the Gaza war in late 2025 and by pressing him on haredi conscription.

Opposition leaders quickly backed the army chief. Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot said he supports Zamir's caution and warned Netanyahu: "Do not dare to place your own political interests above the security of the State." He said the IDF would not be turned into a tool for Netanyahu's political survival and that citizens would end "this era of reckless, lawless governance" in two days.

Democrats party chair Yair Golan wrote on X that no military action should be allowed without a clear security need, a strategic purpose and a responsible plan. Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman called an attempt to drag Israel into military action to prevent the elections a "betrayal of the state and its security," adding that the chief of staff's duty is to prevent the political use of the IDF.