Channel 12 report: Netanyahu and Mossad chief nearly hit Iran before October 27 vote

Israeli voters cast ballots on October 27 with a near-miss over Iran, according to a report broadcast by Channel 12 on Friday. The network said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad chief Roman Gofman planned an operation against Iran on the eve of the election. The report noted that the plan was not backed by other senior security officials, who feared it would cause a major escalation and disrupt the voting schedule.

The operation moved forward despite those concerns, the report said. An Israeli security operative made a mistake that tipped off the United States, and Washington quickly moved to quash the plan. Channel 12 stated it was broadcasting the story under the limitations of military censorship. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report, saying the prime minister had clarified in real time that an attack before the elections was not on the agenda.

This account follows several similar reports aired in the days before the election. On October 25, Channel 12 reported that an unprecedented confrontation was unfolding between Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The network said Zamir resisted an instruction from the prime minister for unspecified military action that defense officials believed could have led to a flare-up with Iran. Zamir sought further deliberations and signed documentation regarding legal authorization.

A military source told Channel 12 that the action could lead to a flare-up with Iran at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating a potential miscalculation. Unnamed sources said military leaders were concerned the political leadership was trying to use the Iranian issue for political benefit. During an interview with Channel 14 that night, Netanyahu called the report nonsense and said there was no fight with Zamir. He said he had recently instructed the IDF and Mossad to topple the Iranian regime, though he did not connect this directly to the specific report.

Channel 12 said the tension between Netanyahu and Zamir was evident at a discussion at Palmahim Airbase, where the atmosphere was extremely sour. A senior security source told the network, History will not forget the role that Zamir has played in recent days. The next day, Channels 12 and 13 reported that Zamir was the only security chief to oppose military action sought by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. The IDF feared the action could spark a flare-up with Iran and derail the election.

The report on the scrapped operation arrived as Qatari-mediated negotiations to end the war between the United States and Iran showed progress. Channel 12 said Netanyahu urged President Donald Trump to resume the war against Iran immediately after the US midterm elections, where Republicans suffered major losses. Trump reportedly wants to give diplomatic negotiations more time. Netanyahu fears the talks could lead to a dramatic easing of pressure on Iran.

Asked Friday what his message was to Iran, Trump told reporters outside the White House that the US had beaten Iran and was doing very well. He said the US had not lost a soldier in six or seven months. Trump repeated his claim that Israel and the entire Middle East would not exist today if he had not stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon. He wrote on Truth Social that nobody wants to say that, but everybody knows it is true.