Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir have been locked in recent days in an unprecedented confrontation surrounding an instruction by the prime minister for unspecified military action that defense officials believe could lead to a swift confrontation with Iran shortly before the election, according to a report by an Israeli broadcaster cited by The Times of Israel; Zamir had been resisting carrying out the action and sought further deliberations, as well as signed documentation regarding legal authorization; Netanyahu denied the report late on Sunday night, saying “there is no confrontation”.