Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had attempted to assassinate one of his two sons, but provided no details about the alleged plot or identified which son was targeted.
“Something incredible happened: Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill one of my sons,” Netanyahu said during a phone interview with Israel’s Channel 14.
Netanyahu made the claim while discussing reports that Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency had declined to provide a security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu ahead of elections on October 27.
The prime minister voiced support for round-the-clock protection for Eisenkot, arguing that such security was “not a luxury”. Referring to the threat posed by Iran, Netanyahu added: “Without that, (the Iranians) will succeed.”
Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter, but it remains unclear which of his sons was allegedly targeted. His elder son, Yair, 35, has spent extended periods in Miami since early 2024, reportedly under Shin Bet protection.
Yair Netanyahu’s stay in the United States has already generated controversy in Israel over the cost to taxpayers of providing security. His presence has also prompted concern among some residents in south Florida, who have expressed fears that he could make the area a target for attacks by Israel’s enemies.
Shortly after Netanyahu’s remarks became public on Monday, prominent Israeli journalist Amit Segal wrote on his Telegram channel that the alleged assassination attempt had been known for “months” but was subject to a gag order. The claim has not been accompanied by further public details about the alleged operation.
Netanyahu’s remarks come against the backdrop of a sharply intensified confrontation between Israel, the United States and Iran. Israel killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in the opening salvo of US-Israeli strikes on February 28, along with some of his family members.
A week later, Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, one of his six children, was named the new supreme leader. In a message read out on his behalf on state television, Mojtaba Khamenei said that, in addition to his father, he had lost his wife, his sister, her child and his brother-in-law.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since his appointment and was reportedly wounded in the same strikes that killed his father. His absence from public view has added to the uncertainty surrounding his condition and activities since becoming Iran’s new supreme leader.
In another message attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei and published during funeral ceremonies for his father, the new leader pledged to “avenge the blood” of Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu’s allegation therefore comes amid an environment in which senior figures on both sides have faced heightened security threats. Yet the Israeli prime minister offered no information about when or where the alleged attempt against his son occurred, how it was carried out, or which of his sons was supposedly targeted.
For now, the allegation remains Netanyahu’s public account of an attempted assassination, while the circumstances surrounding the claim remain undisclosed.
