Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of attempting to assassinate one of his sons, but offered no information about when or where the alleged plot occurred or which son was reportedly targeted.
Netanyahu made the claim on Monday as his governing coalition lagged in opinion polls ahead of Israel’s general election in October. The political contest is unfolding after the United States and Israel went to war with Iran.
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The conflict began with a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and four members of his family, including his daughter, Boshra, and his 14-month-old granddaughter, Zahra.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu disclosed the alleged plot during a telephone interview with Channel 14, a conservative Israeli broadcaster known for its favourable coverage of the government.
“This is an unbelievable case. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said.
He was addressing reports that one of Israel’s security agencies had refused to assign a security detail to Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu in the race to become prime minister after the election.
Netanyahu backed round-the-clock protection for Eisenkot, insisting that such measures were “not a luxury”.
“Without that, [the Iranians] will succeed,” he said.
Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter. Israeli authorities granted both sons and his wife extended personal protection in July, The Jerusalem Post reported.
His elder son, Yair, 35, has spent lengthy periods in Miami since early 2024. His time in the US city has sparked controversy in Israel over the cost to taxpayers of providing him with security.
Iran, meanwhile, has vowed to retaliate for the deaths of Khamenei and his family.
A week after Ali Khamenei was killed, his son Mojtaba was named Iran’s new supreme leader.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly since taking the post. In a message issued for funeral ceremonies honouring his father, however, he pledged to “avenge the blood” of the former supreme leader.
