Eyal Zamir: no need to strike the Islamic Republic before the election

Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army's chief of staff, has said in a closed-door meeting that under current conditions he sees no sign of an operational need to strike the Islamic Republic before Israel's parliamentary election. The remarks were published by Israeli media on Thursday, 22 October 2026; the election takes place on Tuesday, 27 October.

According to Zamir, the Israeli army remains on alert and will carry out a strike if it deems one necessary. At the same time, the newspaper Israel Hayom reported that the Israeli army's senior commanders currently have no specific intelligence of an imminent threat from the Islamic Republic that would make a pre-emptive strike unavoidable. Security sources also said the army has had no specific operational plan for a strike in recent days.

Netanyahu's and Washington's positions on the timing of a strike

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, had earlier told Army Radio, in answer to a question about a strike before the election, that the present moment is not suitable for Israel. On Thursday he also said he had ordered the army and the Mossad to regard the overthrow of the Islamic Republic as the only solution.

On the other side, Donald Trump announced in mid-October that the United States would not strike the Islamic Republic before the 3 November midterm elections. Nevertheless, the US and Israeli militaries have prepared plans for new strikes after the US election, and the final decision rests with Trump.

Zamir's warning about postponing the election

Israel's Channel 12 reported in early October that Zamir had warned his American counterparts that a large-scale strike on the Islamic Republic in the weeks before the vote could lead to Israel's election being postponed, because the Islamic Republic is expected to respond with massive missile fire at Israel. The Israeli army did not comment on the report.

Israeli security officials, however, do not rule out a new round of conflict with the Islamic Republic and say the threat of this regime's nuclear programme and missile capability remains. Israel has also raised its alert level for fear of an attack by the Islamic Republic or its proxy forces aimed at disrupting the election.

Israel's army chief does not consider a strike before the 27 October election necessary, but the military option against the Islamic Republic remains on the table.