A Likud backbencher seemed to claim in a TV interview on Thursday that Israel was about to attack Iran, a comment that reportedly left the Prime Minister’s Office fuming, causing him to backpedal.

“Everyone knows that we’re on the verge of an attack in Iran — perhaps even this weekend. Those are the estimates,” lawmaker Moshe Saada told the pro-government Channel 14.

Saada, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s party, later clarified on X that he was referring to a US attack on Iran — not an Israeli one, and recommended listening to the “full interview.” But officials scrambled to clarify that he was not privy to any new intelligence on the war.

“He doesn’t know anything, he’s just blathering,” one official told the Ynet outlet. “He decided for himself to say what he said. He isn’t party to any security discussions and was talking about things he heard in the media. He said things he has no idea about.”

The Israel Hayom outlet reported that in the aftermath of Saada’s remark, Likud instructed its lawmakers not to make public statements about the war.........

© The Times of Israel