Report: Netanyahu and Mossad chief planned Iran action before October 27 vote

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the Mossad, Roman Gofman, sought to carry out an operation against Iran in the days before Israel's October 27 election, and the plan was halted by the United States after Washington learned of it, Israel's Channel 12 news reported on Friday. In a post on the channel's N12 news service, correspondent Nir Dvori said Netanyahu tried to advance the action with Gofman's backing, and that the Americans blocked it once they became aware of the planning. N12 said the story was first aired on its Friday evening programme.

The Times of Israel, summarising the broadcast, described the report as unsourced and unconfirmed. According to its account of the Channel 12 story, senior figures in Israel's security establishment did not support the plan, fearing it could trigger a serious escalation and stop the vote from going ahead on schedule. The Times of Israel also relayed Channel 12's claim that an Israeli security operative made an error that alerted the US, after which Washington moved quickly to shut the plan down.

Who is involved

The Mossad is Israel's foreign intelligence agency, responsible for covert operations and intelligence gathering outside the country's borders. Its director reports directly to the prime minister, which places decisions about clandestine action abroad close to the head of government. Roman Gofman is a recent appointment to the post: a Government Press Office photograph published with the Times of Israel item shows Netanyahu greeting him as the new Mossad chief at a welcoming ceremony on June 2, 2026. The Times of Israel referred to Gofman as a loyalist of the prime minister.

Channel 12 is one of Israel's main commercial television broadcasters, and N12 is the name of its news brand and website. The Hebrew name of the programme cited, "Ulpan Shishi", means "Friday Studio" and refers to the channel's weekend news magazine, where investigative and security stories are often aired. Nir Dvori, whose name heads the N12 post, reported the story for the channel.

Where the two accounts differ

The two reports agree on the core claim: that Netanyahu, with Gofman's support, pursued action against Iran shortly before the election and that the United States stopped it. They differ in several details.

• Location of the operation. The Times of Israel, citing Channel 12, said the plan was for an operation inside Iranian territory. The N12 post refers more generally to an action against Iran.
• Timing. The Times of Israel placed the planned operation on the eve of the election. N12 said it was a few days before the vote.
• How Washington found out. The Times of Israel attributed the American discovery to a mistake by an Israeli security operative. The N12 post says only that the Americans learned of the planning, without describing how.
• Opposition inside Israel. The concerns of senior security officials about escalation and a possible disruption of the election appear in the Times of Israel account. The short N12 post does not mention them.

Why the timing matters

The significance of the report, as framed by Channel 12, lies in the overlap between a possible military or intelligence operation and a national election. The concern attributed to senior security officials was not only about a wider conflict with Iran but also about the possibility that escalation could disrupt the vote planned for October 27. Israel and Iran are long-standing adversaries, and covert Israeli activity targeting Iran has been a recurring feature of that rivalry. The report does not say what kind of operation was planned or what its target was.

The report also touches on the relationship between Israel and the United States, its closest ally. According to the account relayed by the Times of Israel, once Washington was alerted it acted fast to stop the plan. The same Times of Israel live blog carried a separate item in which US President Donald Trump again claimed Israel would not exist if he had not stopped Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

What the reports do not say

Neither report names a source, and the Times of Israel stressed that the claims are unconfirmed. No response from the Prime Minister's Office, the Mossad or the US government has been reported. The reports do not describe the nature or target of the planned operation, who in Washington intervened or how, what mistake the Israeli operative is said to have made, or which senior security officials opposed the plan.