Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military chief Eyal Zamir are reportedly at odds over a proposed military operation linked to Iran, raising concerns about a possible escalation just ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), requested additional discussions and a formal written and signed authorisation prior to executing the unspecified operation, according to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 on Sunday.
According to the report, military officials had warned the attack could lead to a clash with Iran and that political leaders might be trying to use the situation for electioneering.
“This has to do with a step that might provoke a flare-up with Iran at a sensitive and dramatic moment. We are creating here this possibility of miscalculation,” a military official said to Channel 12.
He said that he did not have a confrontation with Zamir and dismissed the report as “nonsense” in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.
“There was no battle between us,” he said, saying that he had told the military and the Mossad intelligence agency to act to bring down the government of Iran.
The reported row comes just days ahead of Israelis’ Oct. 27 elections at a time of soaring tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme and security in the region.
Channel 12 did not reveal the details of the planned mission nor confirm a direct link to Netanyahu’s goal to overthrow Iran’s government.
