Israeli Authorities Allege Iranian Plot to Assassinate Former PM Naftali Bennett

On April 9, 2026, Israeli authorities disclosed the arrest of a 22-year-old Haifa resident they say was recruited by Iranian intelligence to assassinate former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The suspect, Ami Gaidrov, allegedly rented an apartment in downtown Haifa and transformed it into a clandestine laboratory where he manufactured between 8 and 10 kilograms of explosive material [1][2]. The case has drawn immediate attention not only for the gravity of the alleged target but for what it reveals about Iranian intelligence's evolving — and increasingly brazen — operations inside Israeli territory.

The Charges and the Evidence

According to a joint statement from the Shin Bet domestic security agency and Israel Police, Gaidrov was detained in March 2026 following an intensive counter-intelligence operation [3]. Authorities allege he had been in contact with an Iranian handler since August 2025, receiving instructions and payments totaling over 70,000 NIS (approximately $22,600) in cryptocurrency [1][4].

The charges expected against Gaidrov are severe: aiding the enemy during wartime, among the most serious offenses in Israeli law [5]. A prosecutor's statement was filed on April 9, with formal indictments against Gaidrov and his alleged accomplices anticipated within days [2].

Investigators say Gaidrov documented his bomb-making progress meticulously, sending videos and photographs to his Iranian handler via specialized operational phones as "proof of performance" [1][6]. Beyond the explosives, authorities allege he functioned as a broader intelligence asset, transmitting images of the Haifa port and precise GPS coordinates of missile impact sites across northern Israel. His handlers reportedly tasked him with securing a rental property overlooking the harbor to serve as a permanent surveillance outpost [5][6].

Three additional suspects from the Haifa metropolitan area — including Sergei Libman and Edward Shuvatiuk — were arrested on suspicion of assisting Gaidrov by concealing explosives and participating in field tests [5][6]. These accomplices allegedly received approximately 80,000 NIS ($26,000) collectively for what authorities describe as grave espionage offenses [3].

The Recruitment Pipeline: How Iran Builds Networks Inside Israel

The Gaidrov case fits a pattern that Israeli security services have been tracking with growing alarm. The Washington Institute has documented 39 known Iranian plots in Israel between 2013 and 2025, 31 of which involved Israeli nationals as operatives [7]. The Shin Bet has publicly stated that more than 40 indictments have been filed against over 60 defendants recruited by Tehran in the past two years alone [4].

Iran's recruitment tradecraft follows a structured escalation model. Initial contact is made through social media and messaging platforms — Telegram, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, or X — with handlers using aliases and presenting themselves as activists or intermediaries offering quick money [7][8]. Phase one involves minor tasks: spraying graffiti or photographing public areas, compensated at $50–$200. Phase two escalates to arson or surveillance, paying $200–$1,000. Phase three involves full espionage or operational activity — photographing military facilities, gathering intelligence on senior officials, or manufacturing weapons — with payments between $1,000 and $5,000 [8].

The demographic profile of recruits is broad. Those arrested during 2024–2025 included active-duty IDF soldiers, reservists, ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, married couples, and teenagers [8]. Israeli security officials have described it as a "spray-and-pray" approach — casting a wide net across all segments of Israeli society in hopes of finding a few operatives willing to escalate [7].

Source: Times of Israel / Shin Bet disclosures

Data as of Apr 9, 2026CSV

A Domestic Bomb Lab: What the Tradecraft Reveals

The decision to have an Israeli national build explosives inside a Haifa apartment — rather than smuggling a weapon or deploying an external operative — reveals both the ambitions and the constraints of Iranian intelligence operations inside Israel.

A domestic bomb lab circumvents the significant border security apparatus that Israel maintains. Cross-border infiltration is extremely difficult given Israel's barrier systems, surveillance technology, and intelligence cooperation with neighboring states. By recruiting a local asset, Iranian handlers avoided these obstacles entirely [7].

However, the approach carries significant operational risk. A 22-year-old with no known explosives training manufacturing bombs in a residential building is inherently unstable — both literally and in terms of operational security. The fact that Gaidrov was detected and arrested before any attack was carried out suggests the Shin Bet's counter-intelligence capabilities kept pace with the threat [3][5].

The Gaidrov case also echoes a 2024 case involving Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli man from Ashkelon who was smuggled into Iran twice and tasked with assassinating the prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet [4]. In another 2024 case, the Shin Bet foiled an Iranian-backed plot involving a remote explosive device targeting a former senior defense official [4]. The pattern suggests Iran is willing to use operationally unsophisticated recruits for high-value targets, accepting a high failure rate in exchange for plausible deniability and reduced exposure of trained intelligence officers.

Targeting a Former Leader: Escalation or Retaliation?

The alleged targeting of Bennett — a former rather than sitting prime minister — raises questions about Iranian targeting doctrine. Bennett served as prime minister from June 2021 to June 2022 and has remained an outspoken advocate for military action against Iran [9]. He has publicly described the Iranian regime as weakened and has advocated striking Iran directly rather than limiting operations to its proxies [9].

From Iran's perspective, Bennett may represent both a symbolic and strategic target. He presided over early phases of the current escalation cycle and has positioned himself as a potential future prime minister who would pursue an aggressive Iran policy. Whether targeting a former leader represents an escalation depends on the lens: it could indicate Iran is broadening its target set beyond sitting officials, or it could reflect the practical reality that current officeholders — particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu — are surrounded by the most formidable security details in the country.

Under Israeli law, former prime ministers receive Shin Bet protection, though the scope and duration vary. The Shin Bet's Unit 730 guards only the seven top current public officials; former leaders receive protection through a separate, lower-ranking unit [10]. In recent years, costs for protecting the Netanyahu family alone ran to NIS 31.5 million ($8.5 million) between 2018 and 2023 [10]. Comparable democracies provide extensive protection to former leaders — the U.S. Secret Service offers lifetime protection to former presidents, and the UK provides ongoing security through the Metropolitan Police — though precise budget comparisons are difficult because most nations classify these figures.

Iran's Denials and Evidentiary Questions

Iran has consistently denied orchestrating assassination operations abroad. In response to allegations of plots against Donald Trump, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that "Iran has never attempted to nor does it plan to assassinate anyone" [11]. Iran's foreign ministry has called similar Western accusations "baseless" [11].

Skeptics can point to legitimate questions about the evidentiary standard in some cases. U.S. officials have acknowledged that assessments of Iranian leadership involvement in certain plots were based on analytical inference rather than direct evidence [11]. The 2011 alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington at a restaurant — a case that involved a used-car salesman from Texas — drew significant skepticism from analysts who questioned whether Iranian intelligence would actually employ such an amateurish operative [12].

However, the weight of accumulated evidence across multiple jurisdictions is substantial. In 2025, the United Kingdom and 13 allied nations publicly accused Iran's intelligence services of orchestrating a wave of assassination attempts, abductions, and intimidation campaigns across Europe and North America [13]. Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi was convicted by a Belgian court for providing explosives intended to bomb an Iranian dissident rally in Paris — a case built on direct forensic and communications evidence [11]. The sheer volume of independent investigations across different legal systems — with more than 60 Israeli indictments alone in two years — makes a blanket denial increasingly difficult to sustain [4].

That said, any individual case must be evaluated on its specific evidence. Gaidrov's case has not yet gone to trial, and the full evidentiary record has not been made public. The charges rest on intelligence and investigative findings that will need to withstand judicial scrutiny.

The Shadow War in Context: 2024–2026

The Bennett assassination plot is one data point in a period of extraordinary direct confrontation between Israel and Iran — a conflict that has moved far beyond the "shadow war" label that characterized earlier decades.

Source: Wikipedia / Britannica

Data as of Apr 9, 2026CSV

In April 2024, Israel struck the Iranian consulate annex in Damascus, killing senior Quds Force commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Iran retaliated with its first-ever direct missile and drone attack on Israeli soil. Israel struck back at Iranian military sites [14]. In July 2024, Israel assassinated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran [14]. In October 2024, Iran struck Israel again, and Israel responded by destroying nearly all of Iran's Russian-supplied S-300 air defense systems [14].

The conflict escalated dramatically in June 2025 with the Twelve-Day War, during which Israel bombed military and nuclear facilities across Iran, and Iran retaliated with over 550 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 drones, striking civilian areas and military sites in Israel. The United States intervened, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites before a ceasefire was reached on June 24 [15][16].

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, intelligence minister Esmail Khatib, and other senior officials [17][18][19]. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel, U.S. bases, and allied nations, and closed the Strait of Hormuz [17]. Mojtaba Khamenei, the late supreme leader's son, was appointed as successor on March 8 [17].

The Bennett plot, with Gaidrov's alleged recruitment beginning in August 2025 — between the Twelve-Day War and the February 2026 strikes — sits squarely within this escalation cycle. It suggests that even as Iran and Israel traded increasingly devastating military blows, Tehran was simultaneously pursuing covert assassination operations against Israeli political figures.

Diplomatic and Retaliatory Options

Israel's response to the Bennett plot will unfold against the backdrop of active ceasefire negotiations. As of April 2026, Trump administration officials have indicated the U.S. will discuss sanctions relief with Iran, while Iran's security council has demanded financial compensation and the complete lifting of international sanctions [20].

Historical precedents for responding to state-sponsored assassination plots include diplomatic expulsions, sanctions escalation, and covert retaliation. Following the 2018 Asadi case in Europe, France expelled an Iranian diplomat and froze assets of Iran's intelligence ministry. The UK and EU imposed additional sanctions after the 2025 joint statement accusing Iran of cross-border operations [13]. Israel's own responses have historically skewed toward intelligence and military action rather than diplomatic measures — a pattern consistent with the broader trajectory of the 2024–2026 confrontation.

Whether the Bennett plot triggers a specific Israeli response or is absorbed into the larger ongoing conflict remains to be seen. The case is expected to proceed through the Israeli court system, with indictments anticipated shortly, and will likely feature prominently in Israeli arguments against any diplomatic normalization with the current Iranian leadership.

What Remains Unknown

Several questions remain unanswered. The precise Iranian handler or handlers involved have not been publicly identified. The operational chain between those handlers and Iranian state institutions — whether IRGC, MOIS (Ministry of Intelligence), or another entity — has not been disclosed. How Gaidrov was initially contacted and what specific social media platform was used to initiate recruitment has not been confirmed in public reporting.

The case also raises questions about how many similar recruitment attempts may be underway that have not yet been detected. With 39 documented plots over 12 years and a sharp acceleration in recent years, the disclosed cases may represent only a fraction of ongoing Iranian operational activity inside Israel [7]. The Shin Bet's ability to intercept these plots before they reach execution has so far held — but the trend line suggests the challenge is growing.