Iranian operatives plotted to assassinate Yair Netanyahu while the Israeli prime minister's son lived in South Florida, Newsmax reported Wednesday, introducing a startling new element to Benjamin Netanyahu's recent admission that Tehran sought to kill one of his children, with an Iranian reconnaissance team apparently already deployed.
Speaking to Israel's Channel 14 on Monday, the premier disclosed the assassination attempt but refused to clarify if Avner or Yair was the intended mark.
Netanyahu said, "There is something here that is unbelievable," before observing, "Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons." An American law enforcement source familiar with the details told Newsmax that the true focus of the plot was the prime minister's 35-year-old eldest son, who had taken up residence in Hallandale Beach near Miami. Israeli intelligence discovered the Iranian scheme against Yair in December and subsequently warned American authorities, the source indicated. According to the individual, Iranian agents were allegedly "on the ground" in the Miami vicinity already, carrying out surveillance on Yair's daily routine and home.
The source noted that Yair received orders to evacuate instantly, despite being accompanied by a permanent Israeli security detail. He immediately flew back to Israel without gathering his belongings and continues to live there now. While military censorship previously suppressed publication, Israel's Channel 12 confirmed that various media entities had known about the assassination plot for months. Yair and Avner are Netanyahu's two sons; Avner resides in Israel, whereas his older brother has emerged as a high-profile conservative commentator defending his father while spending long stretches in the Miami area.
The prime minister referenced the assassination scheme as justification for the substantial government-provided security shielding his family. Warning that attackers "could succeed" without proper protection, Netanyahu said, "That is why this security is not a luxury," defending the protocols. In July, Israel prolonged Shin Bet protective coverage for Sara, Yair, and Avner Netanyahu, ensuring the sons will retain their security details for five years even after the prime minister vacates his office.
The alleged assassination plot in Florida corresponds with a larger pattern of Iranian threats targeting American and Israeli leaders alongside their families. As the Newsmax article noted, the Justice Department has stated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has executed overseas operations to exact revenge for the January 2020 American strike that killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Federal prosecutors charged Iranian asset Farhad Shakeri in 2024, alleging the IRGC directed him to formulate an assassination plot against Donald Trump. In addition to uncovering plots aimed at senior officials from Trump's first term, US authorities have tracked repeated public Iranian threats against the former president following Soleimani's death.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton was the subject of one of the most severe plots. In 2022, federal prosecutors indicted IRGC member Shahram Poursafi for allegedly trying to coordinate Bolton's assassination by offering a hitman $300,000 to execute him in Maryland or Washington, DC. The Justice Department reported that Poursafi provided online street-view images of Bolton's Washington office along with his work address, a plot officials characterized as probable retaliation for the Soleimani strike.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was similarly designated as a possible target of Iran. The danger has progressively encompassed Trump's relatives. Iranian state television aired a highly unusual broadcast targeting 20-year-old Barron Trump this week. Circulated by IRGC-affiliated media and aired on Iran's Channel 3, the program was broadcast under the title, "Where and how should we kill Barron Trump?"
The broadcast displayed purported details concerning his Secret Service protection, vehicles, and university, claiming to have monitored his movements and asserting a $10 million bounty had been placed on his head. Acknowledging its awareness of the video on Tuesday, the Secret Service confirmed it investigates threats against its protectees but refused to detail specific security procedures. Iranian media previously distributed threatening content targeting former first lady Melania Trump, and last month, billboards reading "Blood for Blood" appeared in Tehran's Palestine Square featuring the faces of President Trump, Melania, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Barron Trump.
On July 8, as President Donald Trump prepared to depart a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, American security officials received intelligence outlining an Iranian threat against his plane. CBS News later reported that US and Turkish intelligence identified a credible plot to shoot a missile at Trump's departing aircraft in Ankara, with Israeli intelligence also reportedly supplying intelligence regarding the threat. Security personnel covertly moved Trump from the presidential aircraft to a nearby US military plane instead of allowing him to take his planned flight. As the Newsmax publication highlighted, the episode unfolded as Trump publicly admitted Tehran viewed him as a primary assassination target; during the Ankara summit, he stated he was on Iranian target lists, declaring, "They want to take out the U.S. leader – me," in reference to the threat.
