JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran and its allies on Sunday against trying to disrupt Israel's election with attacks, in a video released by his office and filmed at an Arrow long-range missile-defence battery. 'We have intelligence signs that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections,' Netanyahu said. 'Don't test us. You will suffer disproportionate blows,' he added, saying the military was ready for both defensive and offensive operations.

Source: AFP, Oct 25 (video report)

Israelis vote on Tuesday, October 27. Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, presenting himself as the leader who launched the war against Iran in February alongside the United States and suggesting that he alone can see it through, Al Arabiya English reported. His warning, two days before the vote, was delivered standing beside one of the systems Israel relies on to intercept long-range ballistic missiles.

Source: Al Arabiya English, Oct 25

Oct 27Israel's parliamentary election day, two days after the warning
Feb 2026Start of the joint US-Israeli war on Iran that anchors Netanyahu's security campaign

What is solid

  • Netanyahu publicly issued the warning in an official video from an Arrow battery on Sunday, October 25 (AFP; Al Arabiya English)
  • He said the Israeli military is prepared for defensive and offensive operations, and Israel votes on October 27

What is only claimed

  • The 'intelligence signs' of a planned Iranian or proxy attack to disrupt the election are Netanyahu's own claim, made in a campaign-period video - no supporting evidence has been published and Iran had not responded in the reporting checked

A campaign fought under a security shadow

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu had also posted an AI-generated image of a mushroom cloud engulfing Tel Aviv, alongside text attributed to a right-wing political commentator calling Iran an existential threat, Al Arabiya English reported. Separately, the chairman of Israel's Central Elections Committee ruled on Sunday that an earlier Netanyahu video filmed with fighter jets in the background did not constitute illegal campaign propaganda, saying its purpose was to deter the enemy, JFeed reported.

Source: JFeed, Oct 25

For voters across the region - including the large Indian and Punjabi workforce in the Gulf, whose safety and flights depend on the Israel-Iran temperature - the practical question is whether the warning stays rhetoric. No attack had been reported by Sunday evening, and Israel's defence establishment has been on heightened readiness ahead of the vote. Awaaz Punjab will treat any claimed plot as an allegation, attributed to Netanyahu, unless independent evidence emerges.

Source: Israel Realtime, Oct 25