Israel: Netanyahu warns Iran against attempting to disrupt the parliamentary elections

"Don't put us to the test. You will face disproportionate retaliation," the Prime Minister, campaigning for a new term, told Iranians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted on Sunday that Iran and its allies might attempt to disrupt the parliamentary elections scheduled for Tuesday in Israel, warning the Islamic Republic against any attack. "We have intelligence indicating that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, might attack us in order to disrupt the elections," Netanyahu said in a video released Sunday by his office.

“Don’t test us. You will face disproportionate retaliation,” he told the Iranians. According to Israel’s Channel 12, Army Chief Eyal Zamir called for “an in-depth discussion” with Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible operation “that could lead to a conflict with Iran.” The channel also cited other anonymous sources within the army who expressed concern that the Prime Minister might use “the Iranian issue to gain political momentum.”

Atomic explosion

Running for a new term, the head of government has placed security issues at the heart of his campaign and multiplied alarmist speeches, suggesting that Israel would not survive without him.

Earlier on Sunday, he shared on his social media accounts an AI-generated image depicting a nuclear explosion over what appears to be Tel Aviv. The accompanying message quotes a text attributed to a right-wing political commentator, which presents Iran as an existential threat and evokes the risk of a "second Holocaust" if the Prime Minister does not remain in power after the elections.