Netanyahu Rails at Newspaper Coverage of Imminent Iran Attack

'Worldwide Scandal' Aims at Foiling War, PM Insists

During a meeting with other Likud Party members, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at newspaper coverage of his planned attack on Iran, saying the stories were aimed at “tying” his hands and amounted to a “worldwide scandal.”

Netanyahu was said to be particularly galled by the reports of top military figures’ opposition to the war, and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, a top ally, said the media was causing “damage to the state’s security.”

The opposition of security officials to his ambitions for conflict has been a thorn in Netanyahu’s side for quite some time, it seems. New reports citing figures familiar with the situation say Netanyahu was inclined to start the war years ago and was foiled at the time because several security chiefs, including outspoken opponent of war and former Mossad chief Meir Dagan “shot him down.”

Netanyahu has sought to preemptively fight against this effect this time around, loudly bashing the military’s leadership and insisting that only he gets to decide when a war is started, and that they are expected to follow through no matter how against it they are.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.