An Iranian state-run TV channel on Thursday broadcast a hit list of seven Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appearing to threaten their assassination.
The list aired by the Islamic Republic’s Ofogh network included Netanyahu, Mossad director David Barnea, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF chief Eyal Zamir, Air Force chief Tomer Bar, Military Intelligence Directorate head Shlomi Binder and Operations Directorate head Itzik Cohen.
The accompanying graphic included crosshairs over the pictures of all seven officials.
The segment’s presenter also made a Hebrew-language threat on air, saying: “We will determine the time of your death, wait for the Ababil,” referring to the Iranian-made drone.
Tehran is currently in negotiations with Washington regarding its nuclear program to avert a potential conflict between the two countries. American and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks last week in Oman, a month after the US president began threatening to attack Iran over its brutal repression of anti-regime protests last month. Iran has said it would strike Israel and US targets in response.
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Earlier Thursday, Netanyahu returned to Israel after a visit to Washington in which he met with US President Donald Trump, who Iran is accused of having also sought to assassinate. In a statement to reporters after landing, the premier said Trump believes the Iranians could be forced to accept “a good deal,” but stressed his own skepticism about the talks.
Trump himself again threatened Iran on Thursday, warning “we have to make a deal with Iran, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland ahead of his return to Israel, February 12, 2026. (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)
IDF calls on Iranians to contact Mossad
Earlier Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces issued a public message in Persian, calling on Iranians to consider contacting Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
The statement, shared on the IDF’s official Persian-language X account, included the username of a Telegram account belonging to the Mossad, where individuals can confidentially share information.
“We ask the patriotic people of Iran to please follow only our official channels of communication and to be in contact with us for any cooperation,” the military said, adding that “the pages and links listed in this post are the only official and verified accounts.”
از مردم میهنپرست ایرانی درخواست مینماییم لطفاً تنها راههای تماس رسمی ما را دنبال کرده و برای هرگونه همکاری با ما در ارتباط باشید.
صفحات و لینکهای درجشده در این پست (لینک در بیو)، تنها حسابهای رسمی و معتبر میباشند. pic.twitter.com/LhRuO8hX7v
— ارتش دفاعی اسرائیل | IDF Farsi (@IDFFarsi) February 12, 2026
It is not the first time that the IDF has called on Iranians to engage with the Mossad, in a possible appeal to would-be defectors or informants.
The IDF has maintained a Persian-language social media presence for years, mostly aimed at countering Iranian regime narratives.
UN chief blasted for congratulating Iran on revolution anniversary
Also Thursday, a letter written by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Iran a day earlier congratulating the country on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution was met with condemnations, with Geneva-based rights group UN Watch calling it “shameful.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the UNA-UK conference to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, at Methodist Central Hall, the site of the inaugural UN General Assembly, in London on January 17, 2026. (Toby Shepheard / AFP)
The letter was first reported by Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA, which said Guterres “extended his warmest congratulations” to Tehran on its national day, and that the anniversary is an “important opportunity to reflect on a country’s path, its role and contributions within the international community, and the ideals that shape its future.”
Responding to a question from a Fox News reporter Thursday, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed the existence of the letter, but said it was “a standard letter that goes out to every member states on their national holiday,” adding that “this has been a tradition for decades.”
“Each member states gets the exact same letter,” Dujarric continued. “It should not be interpreted by anyone who receives it as an endorsement of whatever policies may be going, the government may be putting in place.”
Spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres responds to questions over UN Watch’s exposé:
Efrat Lachter, Fox News: Given the thousands of civilians who were killed by the Iranian regime, do you think it was wise that today you sent a letter of congratulation to the… pic.twitter.com/VEKySfCzYi
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) February 12, 2026
“It doesn’t change the Secretary-General’s view of the crackdown that we saw in Iran, which he called horrendous, given the level of violence and deaths that we saw,” the spokesman said.
The letter was blasted as “abjectly tone-deaf” by Iran analyst Banafsheh Zand, told Fox News that after the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters last month, “offering formal congratulations to the architects of that suffering reads as a moral failure.”
The Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General told Iran International that @antonioguterres ’ congratulatory letter to Masoud Pezeshkian on the occasion of a “national holiday” 22 Bahman was sent in accordance with the standard practice dating back decades applied… pic.twitter.com/1z94G2FB0J
— Maryam Rahmati (@maryam_rahmati) February 11, 2026
Such a letter could “erode [the UN’s] credibility and deepen the wound for those still fighting for freedom inside Iran,” Zand said.
The outlet also quoted Andrew Ghalili, the policy director of US-based advocacy group National Union for Democracy in Iran, as saying that with the letter, the UN “is legitimizing a regime built on repression, executions and the systematic destruction of basic freedoms.”
“Offering celebratory recognition to the Islamic Republic on the anniversary of its revolution ignores the bloodshed, the repression of protesters and the ongoing hostage-taking of innocent people,” he added.
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