Israeli security officials addressed reports in the United States on Thursday regarding an Iranian plot to assassinate Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Prime Minister, and clarified that they are not aware of a terrorist cell that was arrested in Florida just before carrying out an assassination attempt.
“We are not aware of any last-minute thwarting here of an attack that was about to be carried out," the officials told Channel 12’s Nir Dvori.
According to the officials, the Israeli security establishment did indeed possess intelligence regarding an intention to harm senior Israeli figures, including Yair Netanyahu, who was staying in the Miami area at the time. However, they stressed that this was general information and not a warning of a specific assassination attempt that was about to be carried out.
In light of the information received, and out of a desire not to take any risks, precautionary measures were taken around Netanyahu. Among other things, his security detail was reinforced, and he was also required to return to Israel.
The security officials’ comments come in response to a report published in the United States claiming that information had been received about an Iranian plot to assassinate Netanyahu while he was living in Hallandale Beach, Florida. According to the report, Iranian agents were in the area and gathered information about his movements and place of residence. Newsmax reported that Israeli intelligence had learned as early as December of the intention to target Netanyahu and passed a warning to US authorities.