Netanyahu Ordered IDF to Prepare Iran Attack, Trump Opposed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to prepare for an attack on Iran earlier this month, but US President Donald Trump opposed resuming hostilities before the US midterm elections, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. According to three sources familiar with the matter, the IDF was preparing for an air campaign that would last several days and was scheduled to launch on the weekend of October 10. The plan included striking civilian infrastructure, such as power stations, alongside nuclear facilities and regime targets. Sources indicated the planned attack was intended to be more severe than one in February. An Israeli source stated that a secret meeting in Israel this week between US Secretary of State Pete Hegseth, Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Katz addressed this issue. According to the source, Hegseth was presented with an updated list of targets in Iran based on new intelligence, including civilian infrastructure not previously targeted. The Pentagon did not comment on the report. Another source suggested the move was intended to pressure Iran in negotiations, with the final decision on renewed attack resting with the US President. "Either there will be a deal, or there will be an attack," one source said. On Tuesday, Netanyahu stated that Iran sought to influence the elections and wanted him to lose. Responding to a question about whether Israel was "on the way to a surprise attack," he replied, "We are preparing for that possibility." He added that there was "intelligence, unequivocally, that we heard from the head of military intelligence, we heard from the Mossad, the chief of staff spoke about it, and the defense minister and I spoke about it." Netanyahu further claimed, "This is the truth, it's not spin. It's intelligence reports that Iran and its proxies want to try to influence the elections because they know we have changed the equation, that we are stronger than ever." Shortly after, Defense Minister Katz warned Hezbollah against joining an Iranian attack on Israel. "The IDF is prepared to carry out a maneuver towards additional territories in the Nabatieh and Litani areas, with the conquered territory to be evacuated of its residents and treated in the same manner, permanently becoming part of Israel's security zone in Lebanon," he wrote.