On Saturday, August 29, Israel's security service Shin Bet officially confirmed the existence of a serious threat from Iran against Yair Netanyahu — the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the agency, based on an assessment of the situation, a decision was made to emergency-evacuate Yair together with his security team from the state of Florida back to Israel. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing The Jerusalem Post.
Shin Bet Statement: "Serious Threat to Harm"
The security service's official statement, published on Saturday, explicitly states: "There indeed existed a serious threat to harm Yair Netanyahu, and in light of this, following an assessment of the situation, a decision was made to urgently evacuate him together with his security team back to Israel." The phrasing "serious threat to harm" indicates that, according to the assessment by Israeli intelligence, this was not a hypothetical risk but a concrete and actionable intent. Yair Netanyahu, who is constantly accompanied by Israeli security in the United States, received an order to immediately leave his place of stay. According to media reports, he left without packing his personal belongings and returned to Israel, where, it is noted, he currently resides.
Timeline of the Uncovering: From December to the Emergency Evacuation
Initially, information about the Iranian threat appeared on Tuesday, August 25, on the website of the American outlet Newsmax. The report cited by the outlet states that as early as December, Israeli intelligence uncovered a plot to assassinate Yair Netanyahu on the territory of Florida. The warning was then passed to the American authorities. Thus, several months elapsed between the moment the plot was uncovered and the final evacuation, during which, according to available data, the situation remained under the control of both countries' intelligence services.
Iranian Agents in Miami: Surveillance of the Residence
An American source familiar with the intelligence assessment told Newsmax that Iranian agents were already "on the ground" in the Miami area and even conducted surveillance of Yair Netanyahu's residence and movements. This means that, according to intelligence data, at the time Shin Bet confirmed the threat, the operation to prepare the assassination could have been in its final stage. It was precisely the presence of agents on U.S. territory and the fact of active surveillance that became the key factors prompting the decision for an immediate evacuation rather than an increase of security on the spot.
The Prime Minister's Reaction: "Iran Has Crossed Off One of My Sons"
Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview with Channel 14, already acknowledged that Iran had attempted an assassination against one of his sons, although at the time he declined to specify who exactly was the target — Yair or his brother Avner. "Something unimaginable is happening here. Iran has crossed off one of my sons. Iran tried to kill him — tried to kill one of my sons," the prime minister stated. Thus, Shin Bet's public confirmation on Saturday became the first official mention of a specific name — Yair — after the head of government had limited himself to a general formulation.
Contradictory Data
The available sources contain two nuances that require attention. First, in the interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu deliberately did not name the son who became the target of the Iranian plot, which at the time created uncertainty as to whether the reference was to Yair or Avner. Only on Saturday did Shin Bet remove this uncertainty by explicitly pointing to Yair. Second, the date of the plot's uncovering — "December" — is cited exclusively in the Newsmax report and has not been independently confirmed by Shin Bet or by the American authorities in public statements. The exact month the plot was discovered may be clarified during subsequent investigations or official briefings.