Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran and its proxies could "disrupt the elections" with attacks

On the eve of a closely contested Israeli election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the possibility that Iran or aligned groups could use violence to affect the balloting. His security-focused campaign has drawn accusations from rival Gadi Eisenkot that he exaggerates the Iran danger for political advantage. Defense Minister Katz denied a Channel 12 report of a confrontation between Netanyahu and army chief Eyal Zamir over an unspecified Iran directive, calling claims of political-military gaps baseless and saying Israel was not planning to strike Iran before the vote. Opposition leader Yair Lapid cited the report to accuse Netanyahu of seeking escalation to delay the vote, while Eisenkot warned against politicizing the military. Iran’s foreign ministry said the election’s outcome did not matter to it.