The remarks follow a New York Times report that the US and Israel are drawing up plans for renewed strikes on Iran after the elections, as well as a Haaretz report citing White House sources who said Trump had shifted toward a preemptive strike after reviewing intelligence brought back by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth made an unannounced trip to Ovda Air Base in southern Israel on Monday for a 90 minute meeting on Iran with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Adviser Shmuel Ben Ezra that excluded IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other senior military officers.
A security source told Kan News that while renewed fighting with Iran is unavoidable, an operation is unlikely before Israel's Oct. 27 parliamentary election and the US midterms. In a Monday phone call with Trump, Netanyahu said of Iran that "we have a job to finish" and "we'll finish it together," prompting Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei to warn Tuesday that "the era of 'hit-and-run' is over" and any renewed US attack would be met with retaliation.