Netanyahu recalculates his election strategy amid shattered regional dreams

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral strategy appears to be in disarray, with his hopes of a decisive victory complicated by regional tensions and international rebukes. Netanyahu had envisioned heading into the fall general elections with Iran's ayatollah regime already fallen, a scenario he believed would eclipse the trauma of the October 7 Hamas massacre and propel his Likud party to a significant win.

Sources close to his office indicated that this collapse in Tehran was a key component of his electoral calculus. However, this anticipated change has not materialized, and the prime minister's pronouncements at a recent Mossad handover ceremony about Iran's "cracked foundations" seem at odds with the current reality. Instead, Israel finds itself deeply embroiled in conflict in Lebanon, and Netanyahu has reportedly faced harsh criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Under these circumstances, Netanyahu is reportedly aiming to postpone the elections to the latest possible date, October 20. This delay, he believes, could allow for positive shifts on the diplomatic and security fronts. He also anticipates that the public narrative may not be swayed by the memorial events planned for early October, which will mark the anniversary of the Hamas attack. Despite the heavy emotional connotations of October for Israelis, Netanyahu seems to be banking on time to reshape the political landscape in his favor.

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the foundations of the terror regime in Iran have cracked. It will not go back to what it was, and it will ultimately fall.