American officials expect Israel will retaliate against this month's Iranian attack before November 5, sources tell CNN â€" a timeline that would thrust the growing volatility in the Middle East squarely into public view within days of the US presidential election.
The timeline and parameters of Israel's retaliation against Iran have been subject to intense debate inside Israel's government and are not directly related to the timing of the US election, the sources said.
Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu â€" described by senior US administration officials as deeply attuned to American politics â€" appears highly sensitive to any potential political ramifications of Israel's actions in the US, they said.
The growing conflict in the Middle East has emerged as persistent issue in the American election. President Joe Biden, and by extension Vice President Kamala Harris, have faced pressure from progressives for their handling of the situation. Meanwhile, Republicans â€" including former President Donald Trump â€" have accused the administration of bungling the crisis and sending the world into chaos.
As the election nears, the administration has begun applying new pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian conditions inside Gaza. In a stern letter revealed this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Israel a failure to deliver more aid to the enclave could trigger a cutoff of military assistance.
But in a sign of the fraught political dynamics, the letter was not signed from the president or the vice president, neither of whom has publicly threatened to cut off aid to Israel, despite pressure from the left. Its deadline for allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza falls after the election. And the warning came the same week some military personnel and components of the advanced air defense system the US is providing to Israel arrived in the country.
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