Veteran Israeli journalist and Middle East analyst Ehud Yaari said Friday that Iranian operatives hacked his computer last week in Washington, DC, using a forged identity posing as former US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt.
Speaking on Channel 12 News, Yaari recounted that while visiting the US think tank where he works, two FBI agents approached him without warning and seized his laptop.
“Suddenly, two FBI agents came in and said: ‘We need your computer,’” Yaari said. “They took it apart and then told me—on this day, at this time, the Iranians penetrated your device.”
Fake Greenblatt, real breach
The breach, according to Yaari, began with what appeared to be a legitimate message from Greenblatt.
“It was a fake identity—someone pretending to be Jason Greenblatt,” he said. “He sent me a message about interviews discussing how to solve the Gaza issue, and attached a file.”
“I’m telling you—it was a serious position paper. I even had a few comments, and that was it,” Yaari recalled.
Unbeknownst to him, the file contained a cyber payload that gave Iranian intelligence access to his computer.
Part of a wider threat
The incident underscores a broader pattern of Iranian cyber efforts to infiltrate Israeli and Western policy networks. Iranian actors have previously used social engineering tactics—posing as diplomats, academics, and journalists—to target high-profile figures.
Greenblatt, a former Trump administration official who helped broker the Abraham Accords and now remains active in policy and media, has not issued a statement on the incident.
The report came the same day, Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder warned that Iran is racing ahead with nuclear and missile development, and that Israel has entered an “existential campaign” to stop it.