Analyst: Israel will attack Iran under the cover of the Trump-Harris election

Several analysts said Israel would use America’s preoccupation with its election as a response to Iran firing up to 200 missiles into the country Newsweek.

Iran is currently preparing for Israel’s expected response to the Islamic Republic’s attack on its long-time enemy on Tuesday, which it says was a response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and “the Exacerbating the regime’s evils “is support of the United States” for attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.

Escalations continue to fuel fears of an all-out war in the region, with Iran promising a “stronger attack” if Israel retaliates, Israel’s ground operation against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and the approaching anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza , which began after the Hamas attack on October 7th.

This all comes as the US, Israel’s most powerful ally, heads towards a major election on November 5th in which America will decide whether to send Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump to the White House.

“Israel will use this time – while the US is preoccupied with itself and the election – to attack Iran as long as the US does not warn or stop it,” said Beni Sabti, a researcher in the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies Newsweek.

Similarly, Michael Pregent, a senior Middle East analyst at the Hudson Institute think tank, said it was typical for countries to take advantage of this window of opportunity.

“Israel is basically taking advantage of the permissive environment before the US elections to get everything it can,” he said Newsweek.

He expects this to continue during a “lame-duck session” in the period leading up to the new president’s inauguration, in which Israel will “continue to step up its attacks to get everything it can.”

Pregent added: “Usually our adversaries exploit this window – when it comes to Iran, Russia and China – and now we see Israel exploiting this window too – because they believe they have to do everything they can before the outcome of the US elections to ensure their security.”

Feryal Cherif, an associate professor at California’s Loyola Marymount University, said Israel is “encouraged” by the fact that America is in an election cycle.

“During non-election times, it is more common for U.S. administrations to use carrot-and-stick strategies to push Israel in a direction more consistent with U.S. interests,” she said Newsweek.

Newsweek has asked the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense for a response to these comments.

While US President Joe Biden has said he would not support a retaliatory strike by Israel against nuclear facilities in Iran, he reiterated his support, saying: “Make no mistake, the United States fully supports Israel.”