Netanyahu said to convey message via Putin that Israel doesn’t intend to attack Iran

5 January 2026, 8:57 pm

1 Edit

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) waves to the crowd in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in Jerusalem, October 27, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has conveyed a message to Iran that Israel is not interested in an escalation at this time and does not intend to attack the Islamic Republic, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

The message was conveyed in recent weeks through Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Netanyahu spoke on the phone several times, the report says.

It adds that Jerusalem is worried that Tehran, believing an Israeli attack is imminent, may miscalculate and strike Israel first, and that Netanyahu’s message is aimed at preventing this.

Speaking at the Knesset today, Netanyahu said that any Iranian attack would have “grave consequences.”