Iran releases animation of Netanyahu assassination after Israel kills senior army officer

The Iranian military has released an animated video depicting the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Tehran accused his government of killing one of the most senior Iranian military advisors in Syria.

In the video shown by Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency, Netanyahu is sitting at a table with some Israeli military officials at the Mossad intelligence agency headquarters in Tel Aviv. As they observe a screen broadcasting intelligence regarding Iranian spies within Israel, the screen is apparently hacked by Iran’s military, while a time bomb underneath Netanyahu’s desk counts down and explodes, killing the infamous prime minister and those with him.

Following the simulation of Netanyahu’s supposed assassination, “Protect yourselves from the friends of Haman” is shown onscreen in Hebrew, Farsi and Arabic. This refers to the Biblical figure in the Persian Achaemenid empire who reportedly opposed the Jewish population and attempted to have them killed.

Iran's IRGC Released Animation Video:

Netanyahu at command center and gets assassinated when a time bomb planted under his desk explodes. pic.twitter.com/KagAdXX244

— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) December 26, 2023

The animated video was released shortly after a strike on Monday killed Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior military advisor from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who had overseen the military partnership between Iran and Syria. The assassination took place close to the Syrian capital Damascus, and was alleged to have been carried out by Israel, making it the latest killing of a senior Iranian military officer in the country in recent years.

Israel’s military has refused to confirm its involvement. Reuters quoted spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari as stating: “I won’t comment on foreign reports, these or others in the Middle East. The Israeli military obviously has a job to protect the security interests of Israel.”

Since Mousavi’s killing, the Iranian authorities have threatened to retaliate. “The usurper and savage Zionist regime will pay for this crime,” said the IRGC, while President Ebrahim Raisi warned that Israel will “certainly pay the price.”

READ: Iran says Israel to face ‘tough countdown’ after killing of its military adviser in Syria