Benjamin Netanyahu pushes to resume strikes against Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to resume large-scale strikes against Iran and had instructed his military to plan for a major new offensive earlier this month, moves that risk plunging the region back into full-scale war.

The Israeli military had prepared for a multi-day bombing campaign to take place on the weekend of October 10 that would have targeted civilian infrastructure such as electricity plants, as well as nuclear facilities and regime targets, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The mission ultimately did not go ahead, with the people familiar citing President Donald Trump’s opposition to restarting the conflict before the US midterm elections on November 3.

But both Trump and Netanyahu, who is preparing for a tough re-election battle of his own next week, have continued to threaten a new offensive against Iran, saying that the US and Israel must “finish” the job against the regime.

The bombing had been intended to surpass the intensity of the joint US-Israel offensive against Iran begun in February, the people said.

While it remains unclear whether the US was meant to join the operation directly, one of the people familiar with the matter said it was “not an unreasonable scenario” that Israel and Washington would restart strikes in the coming weeks.

“There will either be a deal or an attack,” the person said, suggesting the American goal was to force Iran to agree terms with the US as part of a deal over the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear programme that would fully end the war.

US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth travelled to Israel on Monday, holding talks with Netanyahu and other senior officials, according to an Israeli official.

One person said Israeli officials had presented an updated target bank in Iran gleaned from new intelligence, including civilian infrastructure targets that were not struck earlier this year. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another person cautioned that the Israeli military’s proposed operation earlier this month could have been part of a bid “to pressure Iran” in negotiations, and that ultimately it was the US president’s decision whether to move ahead with any renewed assault.