In ‘unprecedented confrontation,’ IDF chief said resisting Netanyahu’s order for military action tied to Iran

An “unprecedented confrontation” has been unfolding in recent days between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir surrounding an instruction by the prime minister for unspecified military action that defense officials believe could lead to a swift confrontation with Iran shortly before the election, Channel 12 reported Sunday.

The TV network, which cited anonymous sources, said Zamir had been resisting carrying out the military action, no details of which were provided, and sought further deliberations, as well as signed documentation from Netanyahu regarding legal authorization for it.

The issue had come to a head in the past 24 hours, the outlet said, noting that its report was being broadcast within the limitations of Israel’s military censorship regulations.

It quoted a military source saying, “This relates to an action that could lead to a flare-up with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating this [potential] miscalculation.”

The report further quoted unnamed sources familiar with the issue, who said there was concern among military leaders of an effort by the political leadership “to utilize the Iranian issue for political benefit.”

Asked about the report during an interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu called it “nonsense,” saying “there was no fight” with Zamir. Earlier in the interview, the prime minister said that he had recently “instructed the IDF and Mossad to topple the [Iranian] regime,” though this did not seem to be connected to the report of a specific instruction from recent days.

The Channel 12 report said that the hostility and tension between Netanyahu and Zamir were evident at a discussion at Palmahim Airbase on Sunday, where the atmosphere in the room was “extremely sour.”

The report quoted a senior security source as saying, “History will not forget the role that Zamir has played in recent days,” without offering further details.

Channel 13 reported on Thursday that Zamir had said during a recent private meeting that he did not see an operational need to strike Iran before the election. “We do not see any indications of a need to strike Iran before the election. If we determine that a strike on Iran is necessary, we will carry it out,” Zamir was quoted as saying.

Reports have intensified in the final stretch of the election campaign that Netanyahu could be seeking renewed conflict with Iran, allegedly to boost his election prospects or possibly delay the vote. The prime minister has denied such intentions.

Chorus of opposition outrage: He’s gone off the rails

Responding to Sunday’s report, opposition leaders said Netanyahu presented a security threat to the country.

Opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot posted on X, “Netanyahu, I’m watching you,” and added that the premier “refuses to understand that Israel’s security isn’t a tool in a political game, that the lives of Israel’s citizens and IDF soldiers aren’t worthless, and the State of Israel is not his private property.”

Eisenkot voiced support for Zamir and said he would not let “the IDF be turned into a tool in Netanyahu’s campaign of survival.”

Speaking at a campaign rally shortly before Channel 12’s report aired, Eisenkot had told supporters that Netanyahu would go to any lengths to retain power. “I see the polls, I know the data, and I know Netanyahu,” Eisenkot, who chairs the Yashar party, said. “He’ll stop at nothing — no lie, no extreme measure — to stay in power.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, number two in the opposition’s B’Yachad party, wrote that Netanyahu “wants to bring about an escalation and conflict with Iran just to postpone the election. The man has gone off the rails. We must send him home.”

Yair Golan, chair of the left-wing Democrats party and a former deputy IDF chief, voiced support for Zamir and added, “We must not allow any military step that lacks a clear security rationale, strategic goal, and responsible plan of action.”

He added, “When the citizens of Israel go out to vote on Tuesday, they must remember: Netanyahu presents a security threat to Israel. He will not hesitate to sacrifice our children’s lives for his survival on the eve of the election — that’s what the IDF is trying to block.”

Avigdor Liberman, chair of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, wrote, “I have no doubt that Bibi is trying to forcefully drag Israel into military action in order to prevent the election. This behavior is tantamount to treason toward the state and its security.”

He called on Zamir to protect the IDF and its soldiers, and not to “risk them because of the prime minister’s worry that he’s going to lose the election.”

PM again warns Iran

At the same time, both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have increased their threatening rhetoric toward Iran.

Netanyahu on Sunday again warned that Iran or one of its allies could attack in the coming days, urging Tehran not to “test” Israel.

Making the comments in front of an Arrow anti-ballistic missile battery at the Palmahim base, Netanyahu said that the military was prepared for any scenario on “both defense and offense.”

“We have intelligence signs that Iran and its proxies could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections,” he said, without elaborating.

Netanyahu has issued several similar warnings in recent weeks, sparking complaints from his election rivals, who have accused him of fearmongering and pushing for a renewal of the war against Iran to influence or delay the October 27 vote.

“I’m warning them,” Netanyahu said of Iran on Sunday. “Don’t test us.”

“You will suffer disproportionate blows,” he said. “We are much stronger than you think. Don’t underestimate us. Don’t test us.”

Netanyahu’s warning came hours after he posted an AI image on social media of a nuclear bomb exploding over Tel Aviv, and text suggesting Israel could face a second Holocaust if he was not reelected.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid said officials in the White House were alarmed by the post, fearing it could cause Iranian officials to miscalculate and attack, restarting the war.

He said US President Donald Trump’s statement that there would be no strike on Iran on Sunday may have been a reaction to the prime minister’s post, designed to calm officials in Tehran.

Trump’s comments came just hours after saying that he was facing a crucial decision on Iran.

“Do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off?” he told Fox News. “That’s the only question.”

“We now control the Hormuz Strait,” Trump continued, referring to the critical pathway for the global oil and gas supply, which Iran has sought to obstruct since the beginning of the war in late February. “We get everything; they get nothing.”

Trump said that the US knows “exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe Mountain,” referring to a key Iranian nuclear site that has not been attacked. “We can read the badge on somebody’s shirt.”

Iran says new war will not change anything

Responding to the repeated threats from Netanyahu and Trump, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that a potential resumption of war would not change his country’s positions.

“Recently, there has been talk of a new war, but I am already thinking about the post-war period. Whether there is war or not, our policies remain the same,” said Araghchi during a televised event in Tehran.

“They have already done so twice and have seen the results,” he said. “If they want to try again, they know they will achieve no different outcome from those of the past.”

An April 8 ceasefire between Iran and the United States put an end to the most intense fighting, apart from sporadic exchanges of fire in and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies.

These military flare-ups have seen a lull in recent weeks.

Iran has claimed control over the strait since the outbreak of the war and has regularly targeted vessels that attempt to cross without its authorization — moves strongly opposed by Washington and countries in the region.

In response, the US has been maintaining a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

In June, Iran agreed with the United States to a memorandum of understanding laying out a pathway to a permanent settlement of the conflict, only for the deal to quickly unravel as each side accused the other of violating it.

Tehran has since called for a return to talks to end the conflict. According to sources, Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday as part of an effort to de-escalate regional tensions in coordination with the US, though the extent of the meeting was not reported.

“The current war has changed everything. We must accept that new realities are taking hold. Shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same, and the management of the strait will no longer be the same,” said Araghchi.

“To achieve peace and stability, our region must move towards the complete absence of foreign forces.”