Netanyahu had pressed Trump to support renewed military action, in part due to Israeli concerns over Iranian activity related to its nuclear program.
By United with Israel Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the IDF earlier this month to prepare to carry out a major new offensive against Iran, but the operation was called off shortly before it was set to begin following strong opposition from President Donald Trump, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Citing three people familiar with the plans, the FT reported that the IDF had prepared a multi-day bombing campaign against Iranian regime, military, nuclear and energy targets.
The operation was reportedly intended to begin over the Oct. 10 weekend, marking a major resumption of Israel’s military campaign against the Islamic Republic.
According to the report, Netanyahu had pressed Trump to support renewed military action, in part due to Israeli concerns over Iranian activity related to its nuclear program.
Trump, however, strongly opposed launching a new military campaign before the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3, leading Israel to call off the planned operation.
On Oct. 8, just days before the Israeli campaign was reportedly scheduled to begin, Trump publicly declared that the United States would not attack Iran before the midterms.
“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd,” he added, while insisting that “IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”
Despite the aborted operation, both Trump and Netanyahu have since issued increasingly pointed warnings suggesting that renewed military action remains on the table.
In his endorsement of Netanyahu on Sunday, Trump said Iran had been “systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially,” but warned that further action could be coming.
“Unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job,” Trump wrote.
He also directly tied Netanyahu’s reelection to the campaign against Tehran.
“If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so,” Trump said.
Netanyahu responded by echoing Trump’s language.
“Thank you, President Trump, for the tremendous support and our work together,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “Together, we will finish the job!”
A day later, Netanyahu released video of a phone conversation with Trump from an Israeli Air Force base in which he again spoke of completing the campaign against Iran.
“Donald, we have a job to finish, and we’ll finish it together. We’ll finish it, and no one else will do it,” Netanyahu told Trump.
Trump responded by praising Netanyahu as a “great warrior,” adding, “You’re the man I want by my side, Bibi.”
During the same visit to the airbase, Netanyahu warned Israel’s enemies that the country remained prepared to strike.
“We have the readiness, determination and ability to strike our enemies at any moment necessary,” Netanyahu said.
“I say to our enemies, do not test us. You will receive blows much heavier than what you have suffered so far.”
Further fueling speculation over the possibility of renewed fighting, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, meeting Netanyahu at Ovda Air Force Base in southern Israel.
The location was particularly notable, with U.S. fighter jets and aerial refueling aircraft currently deployed at the base.
Israeli officials said Netanyahu and Hegseth discussed Iran and other regional threats, as well as U.S.-Israeli cooperation in confronting those threats both offensively and defensively.
Hegseth also met with American troops stationed in Israel during the visit.
According to the Financial Times, Israeli officials recently presented an updated bank of Iranian targets based on new intelligence, including infrastructure that was not struck during the previous campaign.
The military preparations come as both Israel and the United States maintain a heightened posture across the region.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir this week ordered additional measures to ensure readiness across all fronts ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election, including a freeze on military leave beginning Thursday.
The IDF said it is currently on its highest level of alert and will maintain a high degree of vigilance and readiness across all fronts.
The United States, meanwhile, is moving another major wave of naval forces toward the Middle East.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are among the forces heading toward the region.
Together, the deployments include more than 7,000 sailors and approximately 2,000 Marines, according to U.S. officials.
The USS George Washington and USS George H.W. Bush are already operating in the region, meaning the arrival of the Theodore Roosevelt could briefly give the United States three aircraft carriers in the Middle East.
Such a deployment would bring the U.S. naval presence in the region to more than 20,000 sailors and Marines, backed by hundreds of military aircraft, giving Trump significantly expanded options should he decide to resume operations against Iran.
The FT reported that it remains unclear whether the United States would have directly participated in the Israeli operation planned for Oct. 10.
However, one person familiar with the discussions told the newspaper that renewed U.S.-Israeli strikes in the coming weeks were “not an unreasonable scenario.”
“There will either be a deal or an attack,” the source said.
The combination of the previously undisclosed Israeli attack preparations, Hegseth’s surprise visit, the expanding U.S. military presence and increasingly explicit warnings from Trump and Netanyahu suggests that while the planned Oct. 10 offensive was called off, the possibility of another major confrontation with Iran remains firmly on the table.
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