Netanyahu Sought to Conduct an Operation in Iran Before Israel’s Elections But Was Stopped by the U.S.: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to conduct an operation inside Iran before the country’s elections last week, but was stopped by the U.S., according to a new report.

Local outlet Channel 12 detailed that Netanyahu made the decision along with Mossad chief Roman Gofman, an ally of his, and did not have the backing of senior officials in the security establishment, who voiced concerns about the possibility that it could lead to an escalation that prevented the elections from happening.

The operation was set to take place anyway, but a security operative made a mistake that led the U.S. to learn about the plan. Washington quickly moved to stop it and it did not end up taking place.

Netanyahu has been seeking to resume hostilities with Iran. Another report from this week detailed that Netanyahu wanted to jointly strike Iran after the U.S. midterms on Tuesday, while Trump preferred to give more time for negotiations to play out. Three days after the elections, attacks have not taken place.

Time, however, could bring different challenges to Netanyahu’s plans. The likelihood that the leaders of the Zionist opposition bloc and the Arab parties will form a coalition government which would oust him is growing.

Parties that make up Netanyahu‘s ruling bloc won 53 seats, while the so-called “Zionist opposition” bloc won 48. The Arab parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, won a total of 19 seats, which means they could be the kingmakers in forming a government with either coalition. They ended up recommending Eisenkot form a coalition, taking him to 67.

Last Saturday, Eisenkot released a statement reaffirming that those principles would have to be agreed upon by all members of an Eisenkot-led “Zionist, state-like government with as broad a national consensus as possible.” Some outlets interpreted the statement as a sign that Eisenkot was opening the door to the possibility of an Arab-Zionist alliance.

On Friday he said he was standing by the four principles and he is working to form a coalition. In a lengthy social media post, he said “Israel is in a state of genuine, tangible and dangerous emergency.”

“The current government poses a fundamental threat to the very existence of Israeli democracy — nothing less. This is occurring while war fronts remain active, yet are themselves subject to political and personal whims. Israel is already in the midst of a dangerous diplomatic tsunami,” he said.

“Against this backdrop, over the past few days, I have been advancing a plan with my partners to form a national emergency government,” Eisenkot says, adding that he is working to swear in a new government as soon as possible, whose foundation will be the four Jewish-led opposition parties — Yashar (21 seats), B’Yachad (12 seats), The Democrats (8 seats) and Yisrael Beytenu (7 seats).

“Any other party or MK who agrees to my four core principles will be invited to join — whether immediately or at a later stage.”