Iranian operatives reportedly plotted to assassinate Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s eldest son, Yair (35), while he was living in south Florida.
A US law enforcement source told Newsmax that Israeli intelligence learned of the alleged plot last December and alerted US authorities, prompting Yair Netanyahu to leave Florida immediately and return to Israel, where he has been ever since.
According to the report, Iranian operatives were allegedly already “on the ground” in Miami conducting surveillance of Yair Netanyahu’s residence and movements.
In an interview with Israel’s right-wing Channel 14 on Monday, the prime minister disclosed the assassination plot but refused to clarify which of his two sons, Yair or his younger brother Avner, was the intended target.
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“There is something here that is unbelievable,” he said. “Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him.”
His comments came despite the fact that the Israeli military censor had barred publication of information about the alleged plot for weeks.
His revelation came after criticism that Yair benefited from a round-the-clock security detail, provided by the state, while living a luxurious life in Miami. The criticism grew following the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7th, 2023, when hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Yair’s age received emergency military draft orders and served hundreds of days in uniform. Comparisons were made with Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger in the upcoming election, whose son Gal and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.
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In July, the ministerial committee for Shin Bet (Israel’s security agency) affairs agreed to extend security protection for Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their two sons for a minimum period of five years, even if he loses the election in October.
At the same time a request to provide an official security detail for Eisenkot was rejected, although his private guards were permitted to carry weapons.
Eisenkot’s Yashar party had requested stepped-up protection, citing what were termed “increased threats” against him since he became the front-runner to replace Netanyahu. A separate request for protection for Yair Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats, was also rejected.
From Miami, Yair spearheaded the social media messaging campaign for his father, often producing extreme and vindictive posts against the left in Israel, the media, the judiciary and the military and intelligence branches, all of whom he accused of plotting to bring the government down.
Israeli intelligence has reported a number of Iranian attempts in the past to monitor the homes and movements of Israeli officials. The threat level was raised after Israel and the US assassinated Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a targeted air strike in Tehran in February.
