‘Biased and untrue’: Netanyahu denies report Trump blocked planned 'Israeli' attack on Iran

• ‘Israel’s’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed a Financial Times report that US President Donald Trump blocked a planned Israeli attack on Iran, calling the account “biased” and “not true.”
• The report said preparations were underway for several days of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, power plants and other targets before Trump opposed renewed hostilities ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections.

‘Israel’s’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied a report that US President Donald Trump blocked a planned military attack on Iran scheduled for October 10, describing the account as “biased” and “not true.”

In an interview with ‘Israel’s’ Channel 7 on Thursday, Netanyahu rejected a Financial Times report published a day earlier that said Trump opposed a renewed offensive against Iran ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections.

“This report is not true. I’m not going to get into correcting this biased report,” Netanyahu said.

Asked directly whether he had planned an attack and Trump had told him not to proceed, Netanyahu rejected the premise without specifying which details of the report he disputed.

According to the Financial Times, which cited three people familiar with the plans, the ‘Israeli’ army had prepared for several days of intensive strikes against Iranian targets during the weekend of October 10.

The proposed operation reportedly included strikes on nuclear facilities, power plants and other infrastructure, as well as sites associated with the Iranian government.

The newspaper reported that the planned offensive would have been more intense than the strikes conducted during Operation Roaring Lion earlier this year.

The operation was reportedly called off after Trump opposed resuming hostilities before the US midterm elections. The account has not been independently confirmed, and Netanyahu's denial did not address the reported military preparations in detail.

Ahead of the reported planned operation, Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social platform saying Washington was engaged in productive discussions with Iran.

He also said the US naval blockade would remain in effect and argued that Iran was facing economic and military difficulties.

“We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections” on November 3, Trump wrote, while reiterating that Tehran would not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.

The Financial Times report cited one source as saying that the United States and ‘Israel’ could still resume military operations against Iran in the coming weeks.

“There will either be a deal or an attack,” the source told the newspaper.

Another person familiar with the plans said that, from the ‘Israeli’ government's perspective, “everything is on the table.”

Netanyahu's denial leaves competing accounts of whether a new attack was planned and whether Trump intervened to prevent it.

The Financial Times based its reporting on three unnamed sources familiar with the plans, while Netanyahu dismissed the account without providing further details about the reported preparations or discussions with Washington.

Neither the reported military planning nor the alleged US intervention has been independently established by the information available in the reports.