Iran targeted Israeli election, US midterms with cyber, recruitment plans – report

Iran is preparing to interfere in the US midterm elections on November 3 after attempting to disrupt Israel's general election on Tuesday, with Iranian officials describing plans to infiltrate electoral processes and hack voting systems, The Telegraph reported on Thursday.

Several Iranian officials told the British newspaper that Tehran views the two elections as an opportunity to weaken its principal adversaries politically, as the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the US continues.

One Iranian official said Tehran had been examining ways to recruit individuals involved in the electoral processes of both countries, while cyber groups had been established to target their election systems.

Another official said Iran regarded the operations as an extension of its military confrontation with Washington and Jerusalem, with the objective of destabilizing both countries rather than securing victory for particular candidates.

The officials indicated that Tehran hopes political divisions in Israel and the US will constrain their governments' ability to conduct further military operations against Iran.

The claims come after Israeli authorities raised concerns about Iranian attempts to influence the election. Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran and its regional proxies were considering ways to interfere in the electoral process, including cyber operations and possible attacks.

The Telegraph's report did not establish that Iranian operatives had successfully penetrated voting systems in either country.

Tehran sees Israeli political deadlock as an opportunity

Iranian officials have been closely following the results of Israel's election, particularly the possibility that neither Netanyahu nor opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot will be able to establish a governing coalition.

According to results released by the Central Elections Committee on Wednesday, Netanyahu's bloc was projected to secure 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with 48 for Eisenkot's opposition bloc.

Arab parties were projected to win a combined 19 seats, potentially making their support decisive in determining the composition of the next government.

Fadahossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, told The Telegraph that the Arab parties were seeking to prevent Netanyahu from forming another government while increasing their influence over coalition negotiations.

He argued that neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot would find it straightforward to secure their support, raising the possibility of prolonged coalition negotiations or another election.

Such an outcome could benefit Tehran by limiting Israel's ability to make major strategic decisions while Iran rebuilds military capabilities damaged during the conflict, according to the report.

Dr. Steven Wagner, a senior lecturer in international security at Brunel University of London, said Iran had reason to avoid significant military action while awaiting the political consequences of the elections.

Wagner assessed that Tehran would prefer Netanyahu to lose power but could also benefit from a prolonged political stalemate.

He said Iran could use the intervening period to strengthen its defenses and consolidate military assets that survived Israeli and American strikes.

The possibility of another election or an alternative governing coalition has emerged as a central issue in Israeli politics, with opposition parties divided over whether they could rely on Arab parties to secure a parliamentary majority.

Iran hopes US midterms will constrain Trump

Iranian officials expressed particular optimism about the US midterm elections, which will determine control of the House of Representatives and approximately one-third of the Senate.

According to The Telegraph, Tehran hopes that Democratic gains in Congress will restrict President Donald Trump's ability to continue military operations against Iran and provide support for additional Israeli attacks.

Wagner said Iranian officials would be watching for indications that Congress might seek to limit White House spending on the conflict and military assistance to Israel.

Amir Ali Abolfath, an Iranian analyst specializing in American affairs, told The Telegraph that historical midterm voting patterns, public opinion polls, and betting markets suggested Democrats had a significant opportunity to gain control of the House.

He cautioned, however, that a Democratic congressional majority would not necessarily prevent further military action.

Abolfath noted that the US president retains substantial authority as commander-in-chief, meaning opposition control of Congress could complicate military operations without necessarily stopping them.

He also raised the possibility that the Trump administration could consider additional strikes against Iran before the election if it believed a rapid military victory would improve Republican electoral prospects.

Conversely, he said, Washington might avoid an operation that risked developing into a prolonged conflict with wider regional consequences.

Iranian officials threaten broader retaliation

Iranian officials also warned that further Israeli or American strikes could provoke retaliation extending beyond the targets attacked in previous exchanges.

One senior Iranian official told The Telegraph that Tehran was prepared for a diplomatic settlement but was also ready to respond forcefully if hostilities resumed.

The official indicated that a future Iranian response would not necessarily be confined to American military assets.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, meanwhile, publicly dismissed the significance of Israel's election during remarks to reporters in Tehran on Monday.

He portrayed the vote as a contest between rival political factions that, in Tehran's view, would continue pursuing hostile policies toward Iran regardless of the outcome.

The distinction between Iran's public dismissal of the electoral process and its reported covert preparations highlights the importance Iranian officials attach to political developments in both countries.

Israel had previously been warned about vulnerabilities to foreign electoral interference. In December 2025, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said Israel faced significant shortcomings in its preparedness for foreign digital interference, warning that Iranian cyberattacks and espionage attempts were intensifying ahead of the 2026 election.

For Tehran, the potential advantages of political paralysis in Jerusalem and congressional opposition in Washington appear to form part of a wider strategy aimed at weakening its adversaries without relying exclusively on military confrontation.

Nevertheless, the Iranian officials who spoke to The Telegraph emphasized that Tehran was not depending on either election to end the conflict and remained prepared for further fighting.