TEL AVIV, October 26. /TASS/. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has refuted media reports about Israel’s plans to attack Iran before the October 27 parliamentary elections.

"I state unequivocally that Israel has no intention of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel, while making clear that if Iran attacks Israel, we will respond with great force," he wrote on X. "All reports on this matter are completely false."

He also noted that reports in the Israeli media about "disagreements between the political leadership and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces - TASS) on Iran are completely baseless and false."

"Since I took over as defense minister, we have had absolute coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF on the Iranian issue," Katz pledged. He slammed the opposition’s attempt "to use these media reports to launch attacks" against himself and Netanyahu "while they are unable, for obvious reasons, to comment on the details of the Iranian issue" as "shameful and irresponsible."

Israel’s TV Channel 12 reported earlier that the country’s security services feared that Netanyahu and the political leadership were about to take steps that "would lead to a sharp and immediate escalation right before the elections." The television channel’s source in law enforcement structures said that Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir strongly objected to this plan, prompting the opposition to hype up claims of infighting between Netanyahu and Zamir.

Elections to Israel’s Knesset, or parliament, will be held on October 27, 2026. The leader of the winning party will be tasked with forming a new government. Today, according to the latest polls, the bloc of the current ruling coalition led by Netanyahu’s Likud party and the united opposition are neck and neck. However, neither side can count on the majority of 61 out of 120 seats in the Knesset required to form a ruling coalition.