Katz Denies Israel Planned Iran Strike Before Parliamentary Elections

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Israel had not intended to launch an attack on Tehran before parliamentary elections, rejecting reports of differences over how to deal with Iran.

Katz denied any rift between the political leadership and the military on the issue. His remarks came amid reports of tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

The defense minister’s comments addressed both the reported disagreements and the question of whether an attack had been planned ahead of the vote.

His denial focused on plans for a pre-election strike and did not set out a timetable for any future military action against Iran.