Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he has instructed the Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces to bring down Iran's government, calling it the only way to end the threat to Israel, as he heads into Tuesday's election with the backing of US President Donald Trump.
In a televised appearance late on Sunday, Netanyahu said Trump was prepared to act to "finally, finally, remove the Iranian threat", but linked that to his own staying in power. Trump publicly endorsed him on social media the same day, writing: "Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!"
Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, called Trump "a true friend of Israel" and said he was confident the US president would work with any leader Israelis choose. He accused Netanyahu of running a campaign of fear after the prime minister shared AI-generated images, including a mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv.
The vote is Israel's first since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks. Polls suggest Netanyahu's Likud could lose seats, putting his coalition's narrow majority at risk, while major fighting with Iran has been paused for months under a ceasefire.
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