Netanyahu threatens forceful response to possible future Iran attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharpened his warnings toward Iran, saying Israel will respond forcefully to any future attacks and stressing the country’s right to defend itself after recent clashes. The remarks come amid a tense regional backdrop that includes Iran’s use of Hezbollah, efforts by the U.S. administration to build Middle East alliances, and ongoing protests inside Iran against the regime.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday accused Iran of trying to assassinate one of his sons.
Speaking in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu said he had asked Israeli law enforcement authorities to strengthen security protections for anyone running for prime minister.
“This is an unbelievable case. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu told the broadcaster, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Shin Bet Special Operations Command Center on Sept. 9, 2025. (Shin Bet Communications)
A Channel 14 reporter then asked Netanyahu whether the claim was based on intelligence he had received.
“Iran tried to murder one of my sons. And this is why this promise [I am making] is more than a luxury – without it, they could succeed [in killing my son]. People need to show some restraint, especially during an election campaign,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu did not say which of his two sons he believed had been targeted.
Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to members of the media following a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Israeli security agency Shin Bet granted extended protection services to Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their sons, Yair and Avner, beginning in July.
The prime minister did not describe details of the assassination plot nor did he say how Israeli intelligence became aware of it.
The accusation comes as Israel remains in negotiations for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, where they had been fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.
The news comes after Israel publicized a massive store of rockets, grenades, drones, sniper rifles, automated weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers, mortars and other military firepower it has confiscated from Hezbollah and Hamas in recent months.
Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, second from left, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, attends a conference in Tehran, Iran, on July 4, 2026. (Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The seized weapons, ranging in manufacturers from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia and China to homegrown producers in Lebanon and Gaza, and even a Nazi-era gun, were part of the war machinery used by Hamas and Hezbollah against Israeli civilians and the IDF since Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hezbollah and Hamas, known proxies of Iran, have killed over 300 American citizens, according to reports.
The Jewish state fought a multifront war against Iran and its proxies at the height of the conflict. The remains of Iranian rockets litter the ground outside the weapons storage facility at Tzrifin for journalists to inspect.
