An Iranian-linked hacking group on Sunday said it had gained access to the mobile phone of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, and threatened to publish material it said would link him to a political scandal.
The group, known as Handala, said in a post on the social media platform X that it had hacked an iPhone belonging to Braverman and would release documents later in the day related to what it called “Bibi Gate,” an apparent reference to allegations surrounding Netanyahu’s inner circle.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said no breach had been identified. “No breach has been found. The issue is being investigated,” it said in a statement.
Handala has previously claimed responsibility for cyber intrusions targeting Israeli figures and institutions.
Earlier in December, the group said it had accessed data from the phone of former prime minister Naftali Bennett, though Bennett later said his device itself had not been hacked and that unauthorized access had instead been gained to his Telegram account.
On Sunday, the group released what it described as initial files allegedly taken from Braverman’s phone, including lists of phone numbers it said belonged to senior Israeli officials and individuals close to Netanyahu, as well as documents and videos that appeared to relate to official government matters.
In its posts, the group alleged it possessed encrypted communications, financial records and other sensitive information. It did not provide evidence supporting those claims. Iran International could not independently verify the authenticity of the material.
The alleged threat comes amid heightened political tensions in Israel over investigations known collectively as the “Qatargate” affair, in which two advisers to Netanyahu are accused of having worked for Qatar while employed in the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu and his aides have denied wrongdoing.
One of the advisers, Eli Feldstein, has separately admitted leaking classified information to Germany’s Bild newspaper, according to Israeli media, in a case Israeli authorities say is under investigation. Feldstein has alleged that Braverman was aware of an internal military probe into the leak, an accusation Braverman has denied.
Braverman, who has been named as Israel’s next ambassador to Britain, has rejected any link to the scandals.
Cybersecurity researchers and Western officials have widely described Handala as being tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, though Tehran has not publicly acknowledged any connection.
The group is believed to be part of a broader cyber operation that researchers link to a unit known as “Banished Kitten,” which has been associated with attacks on Israeli infrastructure, public institutions and media organizations.
Handala has also been linked by researchers to cyber operations targeting Iran International, a London-based Persian-language broadcaster critical of the Iranian government.
At the start of 2024, Iran appeared to be riding high — expanding regional reach, edging closer to nuclear threshold status and projecting confidence at home and abroad. That trajectory began to reverse in late 2024 and accelerated into 2025.
The past year brought direct confrontation with Israel and later the United States, the weakening of Tehran’s regional proxy network and mounting domestic pressures. What it did not bring was collapse.
That survival, analysts warn, may now be shaping how the Islamic Republic approaches 2026 — not as a moment for restraint, but as proof that it can endure unprecedented pressure and press forward.
The defining moment of the year was the June war with Israel, a confrontation that punctured long-held assumptions about Iran’s deterrence while stopping short of triggering a regime change.
On Eye for Iran, Middle East analyst and former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed who directs the Inside the Middle East fellowship program for policy and security professionals; journalist and investigative reporter Jay Solomon, author of The Iran Wars; and historian Shahram Kholdi assessed what the Islamic Republic’s survival says about the year that is about to end and why its interpretation of that survival could make the coming year more volatile.
Fear is breaking — but survival is being reframed
Avi Melamed pointed to a psychological shift inside Iran as one of the most consequential developments of 2025.
“The most significant one is that I think that we are witnessing now a very significant shift in Iran in the sense that many Iranian people are no longer afraid of this regime,” he said.
That erosion of fear has coincided with widespread social defiance, particularly among younger Iranians and women, even as repression continues.
Shahram Kholdi said that Tehran is not reading this moment as a loss. Instead, he argued, the leadership is internalizing 2025 through a survivalist lens — one that encourages defiance rather than restraint.
“If something that can kill you doesn’t destroy you, it makes you stronger,” Kholdi said, describing what he sees as the clerical establishment’s core mentality after the June war with Israel.
That belief, he argued, helps explain why executions have continued and why the Islamic Republic is signaling resolve despite suffering unprecedented blows.
A strategic reversal — interpreted as a test passed
Externally, 2025 marked a sharp break from the trajectory that once favored Tehran. Jay Solomon described the year as a reversal after decades in which Iran expanded influence through proxies and deterrence.
“The word I’d use for the year is weakness,” he said.
Solomon pointed to Israeli strikes, the degradation of Hezbollah and Hamas, and Iran’s struggle to manage overlapping crises — from inflation and water shortages to public dissent.
Yet despite expectations of mass bloodshed following the June conflict, the Islamic Republic ultimately pulled back, reinforcing its own perception that it had weathered the storm.
Why 2026 may be more volatile
For the analysts the biggest concern for 2026 was the risk ahead.
Iran’s deterrence model has been punctured but not abandoned. Instead, Tehran appears determined to rebuild — restoring proxy leverage, advancing missile capabilities and reasserting influence amid uncertainty.
Iran’s ballistic missile stockpile appears largely intact following the June war, with roughly 2,000 heavy missiles still in its arsenal, according to Al-Monitor.
The outlet cited an Israeli security source saying that Israel's military intelligence had conveyed the assessment to the United States in an indication that Israel is urging Washington to again act to address the alleged threat.
Melamed warned that this environment heightens the risk of miscalculation. Kholdi argued that the belief that Iran “didn’t lose” the June war makes confrontation more likely, not less. Solomon added that shifting political currents in the United States are being closely watched in Tehran and Tel Aviv alike, narrowing the window for restraint.
The danger, the panel suggested, is that survival itself is being treated as victory.
As 2026 begins, the Islamic Republic may be weaker — but convinced it has passed a test. That conviction could shape the year ahead more than any battlefield outcome.
