Reports Dispute Israeli Preparations for Iran Campaign

A proposed Israeli military campaign against Iran did not take place around October 10, amid conflicting reports over whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered preparations and whether U.S. President Donald Trump helped stop the operation. The Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the planning, that the Israel Defense Forces had prepared a multiday bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, sites associated with the government and power plants. The account said the plan was called off after Trump opposed renewed fighting before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. It did not establish whether American forces would have participated. The Jerusalem Post reported that its sources said Netanyahu and other Israeli officials had not directed the military to prepare an October 10 attack. Those sources also disputed that Trump stopped an imminent operation. The conflicting accounts leave unresolved whether an order was issued and what role, if any, Trump’s position played in the campaign not proceeding. Trump said in an October 8 social media post that the United States would not attack Iran before the midterms. The statement addressed...