Turkey Apprehends Iranian Agents Plotting Against Israelis

(New York, N.Y.) — For at least the second time this year, specific and credible threats against Israelis in Turkey by Iranian agents were reported by authorities in Jerusalem to Turkish counterparts. According to reports published this week, “an Iranian network operating in Turkey” had been plotting to kidnap or harm Israeli targets. The plot was disrupted prior to the Iranian regime threatening to exact revenge against Israel for the death of Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a senior officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, among other Iranian operatives. Turkish authorities are presently holding IRGC agents.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, the IRGC Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO), and the IRGC’s Quds Force have long played an active role behind the scenes, both domestically and internationally, in achieving the regime’s global campaign of state-sponsored terrorism and subversion. As Iran has experienced multiple attacks at home, Turkey has emerged as a central launchpad for its attempted attacks and kidnappings of Israelis. Iran has not only been aiming to strike diplomats and businessmen in Turkey, but also tourists.  

In February, Turkish authorities implicated Iran in a plot to assassinate Yair Geller, an Israeli and Turkish citizen, in retaliation for killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a former member of the IRGC and chief architect of the Iranian regime’s ambitions to develop nuclear weapons capabilities.  

Israel’s Foreign Ministry took the unusual step of asking Israelis to cancel flights to Turkey and return home immediately due to an imminent threat earlier this month and repeated its warning in stark terms on Monday. “If you are already in Istanbul, return to Israel as soon as possible. If you have planned a flight to Istanbul, cancel. No vacation is worth your life,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said.  

To read UANI’s resource Iran’s Malign Intelligence Activities, please click here. 

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