Israel prepared to attack Iran without US – Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump has announced his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election campaign.

The full report

US President Donald Trump has announced his official endorsement of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election campaign. This comes after Trump had previously refused to endorse anyone.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Netanyahu had been a 'great warrior prime minister and an even greater partner for peace'. He also stated that Iran had been 'systematically destroyed both militarily and financially, and unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job.'

Trump's endorsement comes after months of tension between the two leaders. According to Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East North Africa programme at the British think tank Chatham House, Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu is 'politically significant'.

The Israeli election will be held on October 27. As of Sunday, the opposition alliance led by the Yashar party of Gadi Eisenkot is expected to win the most seats, at 52, with Netanyahu's Likud party-led coalition taking 51 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.

Trump's statement also included a warning to Iran, stating that the US would have to take action if Israel had the wrong leader. He wrote, 'If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so.'