Israel's defense minister denies rift between Netanyahu and army chief over Iran, says there was "no intention" to attack before election

As of 6:57 a.m. ET, Oct. 26, 2026

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday denied reports of a confrontation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over Iran, and said Israel had "no intention" of attacking Iran before Tuesday's election.

"The reports of disagreements between the political leadership and the IDF on Iran are completely baseless and false," Katz said in a statement, according to The Times of Israel. He posted the statement in Hebrew on X.

"I state unequivocally that Israel had no intention of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel, while making clear that if Iran attacks Israel, we will respond with great force," Katz said, adding that "all reports on this matter are completely false," The Times of Israel reported. Katz said coordination between the political leadership and the army was "complete," AFP reported.

What Channel 12 reported

Israel's Channel 12 reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that Netanyahu and Zamir had clashed over an unspecified new directive concerning Iran, according to AFP. According to Channel 12, the dispute centered on an instruction by the prime minister for unspecified military action that defense officials believe could lead to a swift confrontation with Iran shortly before the election, The Times of Israel reported.

Channel 12 also reported that Zamir had demanded a detailed discussion, legal guarantees and the signatures of the political leadership before carrying out the directive, according to AFP. Army Radio published similar details on Monday, citing two senior security officials, The Times of Israel said.

Netanyahu and opposition

Netanyahu denied the report in an interview with Channel 14 on Sunday. "There was no fight between us," he said, according to The Times of Israel. "It's all nonsense."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid referred to the report in a post on X on Sunday, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to put off the vote. "Tonight it was published that he wants to set off an escalation and a confrontation with Iran, just to postpone the elections," Lapid said, according to AFP. "This man has lost his grip. We absolutely must send him home."

Israelis vote in a Knesset election on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

What is not known

Katz's statement addressed Israel's intentions; it did not say whether any order regarding Iran had been given. Channel 12 did not describe the directive it reported. There was no on-record comment from Zamir in the material reviewed for this report.