Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran and its regional proxies are considering ways to influence Israel’s upcoming election, in a Wednesday interview with The Jerusalem Post.
“We have clear warnings that we got from military intelligence, from the Mossad, that Iran and its proxies are considering ways to influence the elections,” Netanyahu told the Post.
“If they do, it’ll be a big mistake for them because we’ll respond with force and might they can’t even imagine,” he warned.
Netanyahu said Iran and its allies could seek to undermine public confidence in Israel’s security by staging attacks intended to suggest that the country’s military achievements had not fundamentally changed the regional balance of power.
“We’ve had an amazing success story,” Netanyahu said, describing Israel’s transformation since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
“We went from October 7 to being the most powerful force in the Middle East, clearly, the most powerful country in the Middle East.”
According to Netanyahu, Israel has completed “90% of the job” against Iran and its proxies, but the remaining challenge is preventing them from rebuilding their capabilities.
Netanyahu names 'enemies that want Israel to lose,' including Erdogan, Mamdani, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Abbas
Netanyahu framed the election as a strategic contest, naming Iranian leaders, Hamas, Hezbollah, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas among those he said wanted him defeated.
“All the enemies of Israel want me to lose,” he said.
The prime minister identified Iran’s nuclear ambitions as the most consequential security threat facing Israel, arguing that Israeli military operations had addressed an immediate danger but had not eliminated the underlying threat.
“About a year ago, Iran was on the verge of developing several atomic bombs,” he said. “If we hadn’t acted in Rising Lion and after that with the Roaring Lion, they’d have atomic bombs to destroy us.”
Netanyahu said Iran would seek to rebuild its nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities as long as the current regime remained in power.
Iran plans to acquire 20,000 ballistic missiles, Netanyahu claims
During the interview, Netanyahu claimed that Iran had planned to acquire 20,000 ballistic missiles, describing such an arsenal as an existential threat to Israel. He estimated that Iran still possessed more than 1,000 missiles.
According to the defense establishment's assessment, Iran possesses 1,600 missiles.
Asked whether he and US President Donald Trump were aligned on potential targets for another operation against Iran, Netanyahu said he believed the two leaders shared an understanding of the strategic stakes.
“President Trump recognizes what I recognize,” he said, without specifying which targets might be considered in any future military action.
“As long as the Iranian regime is there, they’ll reconstitute themselves,” he said, warning that Tehran would continue pursuing capabilities that Israel considers existential threats.
Asked whether a name had already been chosen for a potential third operation against Iran, Netanyahu pointed to the lion-themed names of the previous campaigns, Rising Lion and Roaring Lion.
“We’re dealing with lions,” he said. “This generation, lions. Lions and lionesses.”
This article is a preview of the complete interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which will be published in full tomorrow on JPost.com and Friday in The Jerusalem Post Magazine.