Report: US Urged Israel to Postpone Planned Strike on Iran

The Israeli Air Force had reportedly been preparing to carry out a strike in Iran in recent days, but the US administration asked Israel to delay the operation and raised the possibility of a joint military action at a later stage, according to a CNN report published overnight (Sunday into Monday).

According to the report, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke with his American counterpart and argued that such an operation could negatively affect the upcoming elections in Israel. Israeli defense officials reportedly believe there is no immediate need to take military action before the elections.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz denied a separate report aired on Channel 12 News on Monday, which alleged disagreements between Israel's political leadership and the IDF over Iran, including a confrontation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zamir. Katz dismissed the claims as false.

"Reports of disagreements between the political leadership and the IDF regarding Iran are baseless and completely false," Katz stated. "Coordination between the Prime Minister, the IDF, and myself on the Iranian issue is complete, and the security of the state is the only consideration guiding us."

Katz also rejected claims that Israel had been planning to launch an attack before the elections.

"I state unequivocally that there was no intention whatsoever on Israel's part to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel," he said. "We have made it clear that if Iran attacks Israel, we will respond with great force, and all reports on the matter are completely false."