Netanyahu son Yair identified as target of alleged Iranian assassination plot
The 35-year-old reportedly made an urgent return to Israel after intelligence uncovered a threat against him in the US
Benjamin Netanyahu’s eldest son Yair was the family member allegedly targeted in an Iranian assassination plot revealed by the Israeli prime minister earlier this week, according to a new report.
The 35-year-old was living in Florida when Israeli intelligence discovered the alleged threat in December 2025, US outlet Newsmax reported, citing a US law enforcement source familiar with the case.
The intelligence reportedly indicated that Iranian operatives had reached the Miami area and were watching Yair and his movements.
The threat was considered serious enough for him to be told to leave the US immediately and return to Israel.
Yair reportedly departed at such short notice that he left his belongings behind. He has remained in Israel since.
The claims shed new light on comments made by his father during a live phone interview with Israel’s Channel 14 earlier this week.
Netanyahu disclosed the alleged assassination attempt but did not initially reveal which of his two sons had been targeted.
“Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder, to kill one of my sons. It tried to murder him,” he said.
The alleged plot had remained out of the public domain for months because of Israeli military censorship, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu raised the threat while defending the security arrangements provided to his family, an issue which has attracted criticism in Israel.
Yair had spent extended periods living in the Miami area in recent years while receiving state-funded protection.
His father argued that the danger posed to his family demonstrated why the security was necessary, warning that without protection potential attackers “would succeed”.
Yair has become known for his outspoken social media presence. In April 2023, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu reportedly asked him to step back from social media and stop contacting ministers and lawmakers directly amid concerns over his increasingly controversial political interventions.
Later that year, he iked a post accusing then-IDF chief Herzi Halevi of carrying out a “military coup” on 7 October by allegedly withholding advance knowledge of the Hamas attack from his father. He has also accused the Shin Bet of trying to overthrow his father and claimed the security agency had “tortured” IDF soldiers.