Politics & Diplomacy
Maariv: Washington is pressing Israel to strike Iran on its own; Zamir warns that the October 27 election could be postponed
Israel’s Maariv reports that for two weeks Washington has pushed for any military operation against Iran to be carried out by Israel rather than the US. IDF chief Eyal Zamir reportedly warned US officials that Iranian missile fire could force the October 27 Israeli election to be postponed.
For the past two weeks Washington has pressed for any possible military operation against Iran to be carried out by Israel rather than by the United States, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Maariv published on Saturday, October 10. According to the report, the pressure was applied in contacts between the two sides. The claims below are Maariv’s; the report records no comment from the White House or the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Two election calendars
According to Maariv, US officials believe Israel may view a strike on Iran favourably before its own election on October 27. At the same time they fear that the United States entering a war directly would damage Donald Trump’s chances in the midterm elections on November 3. Two elections a week apart are thus part of the calculation over whether, and who, will strike. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position on such a strike remains unclear, according to the report. Trump, for his part, keeps sending mixed messages about a new attack on Iran; on October 8 he said that “we will not be attacking Iran” before the midterms.
Zamir’s warning
The most notable point concerns Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. According to Maariv, Zamir warned US officials that if Iran is struck again, Tehran could fire a large number of missiles at Israel and that this could lead to the postponement of the October 27 election. The warning suggests that the military is counting the cost of a new round in political terms as well as operational ones.
The diplomatic backdrop
The report comes in a week of parallel diplomatic moves. Tehran is preparing a reply to the US “seven-day plan”, while the Kremlin said Vladimir Putin relayed Iran’s plan to end the war to Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, for his part, accused Netanyahu of seeking “more U.S. blood and treasure” “like a degenerate gambler”, in other words of wanting to drag the United States into a new war.
If Maariv’s report is accurate, the picture is the reverse: Washington wants to stay out and let Israel take the risk.
