Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Monday that Iran attempted to assassinate one of his two sons, an accusation he delivered live on air with no evidence, no timeline, and no name attached to the target.

"Iran targeted one of my sons. It tried to murder him," Netanyahu told Channel 14's military correspondent, according to The Jerusalem Post. He declined to say whether the plot was aimed at his elder son Yair, 35, who has spent long stretches in Miami, or his younger son Avner, and gave no detail on when the alleged attempt occurred or how it was stopped.

A Threat Kept Under Wraps

According to The Times of Israel, Israeli military censors had barred publication of the alleged plot for months before Netanyahu chose to disclose it himself. Channel 12 has separately reported that security officials were aware of the attempt for months and that it took place while Yair Netanyahu was outside the country, though the network stopped short of confirming he was the target.

The revelation surfaced as Netanyahu pressed Shin Bet chief David Zini to extend protective details to every declared candidate for prime minister ahead of Israel's expected October elections, part of a running dispute over the agency's reluctance to guard former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, a potential rival. In July, Israel's Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs approved lifetime security for Netanyahu and his wife Sara, with sons Yair and Avner granted five years of protective coverage after he leaves office, running through 2031, on the assessment that the family faces sustained high-level threats tied to the war with Iran.

"Without it, they will succeed," Netanyahu said of the security detail, according to Ynetnews.

The claim lands roughly two months after a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June that saw direct missile exchanges and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, part of a broader pattern of alleged Iranian plots against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad that Israeli agencies say they have disrupted repeatedly over the past two years, as France 24 notes. Tehran has issued no official response to the new allegation.

Israeli commentators were quick to flag the timing, coming in the middle of a heated succession fight inside Netanyahu's Likud party and a fresh national debate over who receives state-funded protection during the campaign season. None of the outlets covering the claim disputed that Shin Bet had, in fact, quietly expanded protection for the Netanyahu family in July — only that the prime minister had waited weeks to say why.

Israeli reporters are now pressing the Prime Minister's Office and Shin Bet for further detail on the plot's timing and target, while opposition figures are watching closely whether Zini extends comparable security to other declared 2026 candidates. No criminal case, arrest, or named suspect has been announced on either side.