Arabic version: نتنياهو يزعم أن إيران استهدفت أحد أبنائه

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran attempted to kill one of his sons, without identifying the son or providing details about when or where the alleged plot occurred. The allegation was made on Monday as his coalition trailed in opinion polls before Israel’s general election in October.

Netanyahu made the assertion in a phone interview with Channel 14, a conservative Israeli outlet known for favourable coverage of the government, The Jerusalem Post reported. “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 responding to reports that an Israeli security agency had declined to provide a security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu for the next prime minister. Netanyahu backed around-the-clock protection for Eisenkot, describing it as “not a luxury”. “Without that, [the Iranians] will succeed,” he said.

Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter. Israeli authorities granted extended personal protection to both sons and his wife in July, The Jerusalem Post said. His elder son, Yair, 35, has spent extended periods in Miami since early 2024, prompting controversy in Israel over taxpayer-funded protection costs.

Iran has promised revenge for the killings of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and four members of his family, including his daughter Boshra and 14-month-old granddaughter Zahra, in a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran. Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was named supreme leader a week later and pledged in a funeral message to “avenge the blood” of his father.