Israel's seven-member National Security Cabinet met regularly to discuss Iran strike, source says
The seven were the only cabinet members who knew about the expected strike prior to the full cabinet meeting on Thursday evening.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz attend a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)ByELIAV BREUERUpdated:
A forum of seven members of the National Security Cabinet met frequently over the past year and discussed the attack against Iran that began on Friday, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The seven were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Shas chairman MK Arye Deri.
The seven were the only cabinet members who knew about the expected strike prior to the full cabinet meeting on Thursday evening. The group was known as the “small ministers’ forum” and operated similarly to the war cabinet of the beginning of the war, the source said.
A small number of other politicians were updated about the strike before it happened, including Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein and opposition leader MK Yair Lapid.
The sensitivity of the timing of the attack was such that cabinet ministers were instructed to stay put for hours after approving the strike late Thursday night, until the strike actually began, according to a number of reports. The ministers were required to sign non-disclosure agreements during the meeting as well.
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir attends a cabinet meeting, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on July 30, 2023. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL)
The attacks were initially ordered for November
Netanyahu ordered the attacks already in November, and they were initially scheduled for late April. They were delayed for a “number of reasons,” according to Netanyahu.
In an interview on Channel 12 on Sunday evening, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi added that many commercial airplanes left the country ahead of the strike, in order to prevent damage from possible Iranian retaliation.
