Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly denied a Financial Times report that President Donald Trump stopped a planned Israeli bombing campaign against Iran this month, insisting that Israel will brief Washington on what it intends to do — but will never ask Washington for permission to strike.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva–Israel National News, Netanyahu dismissed the report that the Israel Defense Forces had prepared a multi-day bombing campaign against Iran for the weekend of October 10 — aimed at power plants and other civilian infrastructure, nuclear facilities and regime sites — only for the operation to be shelved because Trump opposed renewing hostilities before the November 3 midterm elections. "It's an incorrect report," Netanyahu said. "One day, the truth will come out."
Netanyahu brushed aside the wider stream of reporting about a coming strike. "I think that all these fake reports, they burn out, they fizzle out fairly quickly," he said. "Because eventually, the facts come out." On the question of American approval, he was direct: "I will brief Trump on what we intend to do, but I will not ask him for the green light to strike Iran."
The Financial Times account has also been disputed inside Israel. The Jerusalem Post, citing IDF sources, reported that the army had no plan for an October 10 strike on Iran and that Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other officials had not instructed the IDF to prepare one. The Financial Times had reported that Trump was concerned about the economic consequences of a renewed campaign, particularly energy prices.
"There is no green light. We have no choice. Our existence is not a subject for negotiation." — Benjamin Netanyahu
Netanyahu said his objective in Iran goes beyond any single strike. He has directed the Mossad and the IDF to bring down the regime in Tehran, saying he has "issued a directive stating that the only acceptable solution is the overthrow of the regime in Iran." Of the regime's current condition, he said: "They're crippled. They're on their knees. But as long as this regime survives, it'll make its way back." Speaking to the Jerusalem Post ahead of Israel's October 27 election, he added: "We've done it before, and we'll do it now and bring the final blow."
The denial lands against a backdrop of active war planning. The New York Times reported on October 21 that the United States and Israel have drawn up plans for a short, roughly three-day strike campaign to be carried out after the November 3 midterms, targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, its energy infrastructure and its missile and drone arsenal. Trump has not approved the plan, and on October 8 he pledged that the United States would not attack before the vote.
Trump, for his part, said on Wednesday that the United States is "not negotiating" with Iran and that "something will happen fairly soon." Netanyahu's message, days before Israelis go to the polls, was that whatever Washington decides, Israel's decision is its own: "There is no green light. We have no choice. Our existence is not a subject for negotiation."