From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Security cabinet meeting concludes, focus reportedly not on Iran; earlier PM told MKs he doesn’t know what Trump will decide to do
Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
An urgently convened security cabinet meeting has now concluded, and barely touched on Iran, Channel 12 reports. Rather, it mainly featured a briefing on the financial status of the Palestinian Authority and a recap by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of comments he made earlier in the day to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
The meeting, which had been scheduled for Sunday but was moved up to today by Netanyahu, came a day before US officials are set to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, fueling speculation that the ministerial discussions would revolve around heightened tensions with Tehran.
Channel 12 reports, however, that Netanyahu did discuss Iran earlier in the day in his closed-door appearance before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, where he said that “there is a buildup of conditions toward a critical mass that could bring about the downfall of the Iranian regime,” but cautioned that he was unsure whether it would be sufficient to bring about that outcome.
Channel 12 reports that Netanyahu also told the committee lawmakers that Israel is prepared to deliver a “harsh blow” against Iran if it is attacked, “much greater” than in last June’s war. He reportedly stressed that coordination with the United States is “as high and as close as possible,” but acknowledged that he does not know what decisions US President Donald Trump will ultimately make.
The TV report adds that sensitive deliberations on Iran have been taking place in smaller security forums, and that Israeli officials remain concerned Washington could ultimately drop demands to address Iran’s ballistic missile program during negotiations.
The Times of Israel Community.