Netanyahu seeks to avoid snap polls amid Iran war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is racing to pass a state budget and stave off early elections he would likely lose, with the war in Iran so far doing little to improve his standing in the polls.

- 

In the war's first days, Netanyahu's camp saw a chance for his right-wing coalition to capitalize on the opening salvo that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by holding elections ahead of an expected October date, a source familiar with Netanyahu's political strategy said.

One way to force snap elections would be to let parliament fail to pass the budget by March 31, which under Israeli law would trigger a vote within 90 days. As US-Israeli strikes killed a host of top Iranian figures, some of Netanyahu's confidants publicly floated the idea of a June vote.