Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad chief Roman Gofman sought to carry out a military operation against Iran on the eve of Israel's 27 October election, but the plan was stopped after Washington was inadvertently alerted, Israeli media have reported.

Channel 12 reported on Friday that Netanyahu tried to advance the operation with Gofman's backing, while other senior security officials opposed it, warning that it could trigger a dangerous escalation with Tehran and force the postponement of the vote. Preparations had already advanced when an Israeli security operative's error tipped off the United States, prompting the Trump administration to intervene, the report said.

Netanyahu's office rejected the account, saying: "The prime minister himself made it clear at the time that an attack before the elections in Israel was not on the agenda." The report did not name its sources, and neither the United States nor Iran has confirmed the account. The Times of Israel described the claims as unsourced and unconfirmed.

The report follows earlier Channel 12 accounts of tensions inside Israel's security establishment over Iran. On 25 October, two days before Israelis went to the polls, the channel reported an "unprecedented confrontation" between Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir over a military action that defence officials feared could provoke a confrontation with Iran. On 1 November, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had urged US President Donald Trump to resume the war against Iran immediately after the 3 November US midterm elections.

The reports come as Qatar mediates between Washington and Tehran and as Israel's own politics remain unsettled, with President Isaac Herzog due to task a candidate with forming a government on Sunday after an inconclusive election.

[Source: themedialine.org](https://themedialine.org/headlines/us-thwarted-netanyahus-planned-iran-strike-ahead-of-israeli-elections-report-says/) | [Source: en.hathalyoum.net](https://en.hathalyoum.net/articles/305279)