Israeli Army Chief Reportedly Resisted Netanyahu Iran Order

An Israeli TV report says military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir pushed back on an unspecified Iran-related action days before Tuesday's election; Netanyahu called it "nonsense."

By Richthrax · Oct. 25, 2026

JERUSALEM — Israel's top military officer resisted carrying out an unspecified military action against Iran that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered in the final days of the country's election campaign, according to an Israeli television report Sunday that Netanyahu dismissed as "nonsense."

Channel 12, citing unnamed sources, described an "unprecedented confrontation" between Netanyahu and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post reported Oct. 25. The broadcast gave no details of the action.

According to the report, Zamir sought further deliberations and asked Netanyahu for signed documentation of the legal authorization for the order. Security officials told the channel the action could "trigger a rapid escalation into a confrontation with Iran," and unnamed sources said military leaders were concerned the political leadership wanted "to utilize the Iranian issue for political benefit." A senior security source told Channel 12 that "history will not forget the role that Zamir has played in recent days."

The IDF did not issue a statement on the report, and Zamir has not spoken publicly about it.

Netanyahu denies a clash

Netanyahu, interviewed late Sunday on the pro-government Channel 14 rather than through a formal statement from his office, said "there was no fight between us" and called the reports "all nonsense." He said Zamir, IDF Military Intelligence and the Mossad intelligence agency had themselves warned that Iran is trying to interfere in the election, adding, "We are preparing for it." He also said he had instructed the IDF and the Mossad to topple Iran's government.

Netanyahu has denied accusations that he is seeking renewed war with Iran to improve his electoral chances or delay the vote, which is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The report followed a Channel 13 account last week, reported Oct. 22 by The Times of Israel and The Associated Press, in which Zamir was quoted telling a private meeting: "We do not see any indications of a need to strike Iran before the election." He added, "If we determine that a strike on Iran is necessary, we will carry it out."

The Financial Times reported earlier that Netanyahu had ordered preparations for a sustained bombing campaign against Iran for the weekend of Oct. 10 and that President Donald Trump stopped it, The Jewish Chronicle reported. Netanyahu's office did not respond to the FT, and the IDF declined to comment.

Former generals in opposition

Much of the public criticism has come from opposition politicians who are retired generals, rather than from serving commanders.

Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party and a retired major general who served as IDF deputy chief of staff, accused Netanyahu on Oct. 21 of plotting fresh Iran strikes out of "political and personal considerations," The Jewish Chronicle reported. On X, he called Netanyahu "a sick and weak leader, clinging to power by force and willing to endanger Israel's security to save himself," and urged the chief of staff and security chiefs to resist any attempt to use the military for political ends. In a radio interview, Golan said there was "no intelligence reason to attack Iran now," while adding, "I'm not saying we won't have to attack Iran later."

After Sunday's report, Golan wrote on X that he "wholeheartedly" backs the chief of staff "for standing firm on his professional duty." "It is forbidden to allow any military action that lacks a clear security need, a strategic purpose, and a responsible action plan behind it," he wrote, adding that "Netanyahu constitutes a security threat to Israel" and that the prime minister "does not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of our children for his survival on the eve of elections — and this is what the IDF is trying to thwart." He called the government "a corrupt political echelon" and closed: "We will win. And we will replace them and restore Israel to the path of security and responsibility."

Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff who now heads the Yashar party and leads Netanyahu in some polls, wrote "Netanyahu, I'm watching you" and said he would not let the military become "a tool in Netanyahu's campaign of survival." Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote that "the man has gone off the rails," and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman called the alleged conduct "tantamount to treason toward the state and its security."

The campaign has been tense. Golan began receiving state-funded protection managed by the Shin Bet security agency on Sunday, his party said, after a Democrats billboard was defaced last week with the words "Wanted dead or alive." On Sunday, Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear blast over what appeared to be Tel Aviv; Golan said Netanyahu and his circle had "lost it."

Zamir, who has placed the military on high alert and canceled soldiers' leave through the vote, said last week, "The IDF's mission is to enable the democratic elections to take place on schedule and safely."

Why it matters here: The United States joined Israel in the February campaign against Iran, and Trump said this weekend that more U.S. strikes before the Nov. 3 midterm elections are "possible." Two senior Iranian officials told The New York Times that Tehran is preparing to target U.S. diplomats and personnel, The Times of Israel reported.