Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly pressured the Israeli military to launch an attack on Iran as he toured the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. Channel 12 news reported a clash between Netanyahu and Lt Gen Eyal Zamir regarding a military directive, which Zamir requested be provided in writing.
Netanyahu denied the existence of the reported military directive, while the defence ministry stated it has no intention to carry out operations against Iran. CNN reported that Netanyahu attempted to persuade Donald Trump to initiate a renewed assault on Iran, but Trump ruled out such action until next week's US congressional elections.
Walla News reported that Trump's repeat endorsement followed relentless pressure from Netanyahu's office, even though 64% of Israelis questioned if the endorsement would influence their vote. Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear mushroom cloud destroying Tel Aviv and warned that anyone who cares about their physical existence should have a trembling hand before voting for the opposition.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that its decisions are based on security, professional, objective and national considerations. Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the opposition bloc, said, "We won’t allow the IDF to be turned into a pawn in Netanyahu’s survival campaign."
Netanyahu claimed in March that Israeli and US strikes destroyed Iran’s ability to enrich uranium and produce ballistic missiles, and he claimed a “historic victory” over Iran in 2025. The Prime Minister told Channel 14 that there is a single fundamental issue of existence and forecast that billions of dollars in annual military aid from the US would dry up soon.
Trump stated, "When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior prime minister!" The Bank of Israel stated the right course for the Israeli economy is to maintain economic relations with primary trading partners and noted that cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions.
