Israel has warned its diplomatic missions worldwide to bolster their security due to increased fear of possible Iranian terror attacks in the wake of the attempted assassination attempt of Israelis in Cyprus, Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday.
Israeli media reports said that the attempted assassination was an Iranian plot to avenge the Israeli elimination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last year. The reports were confirmed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The report added that three additional members of an Iranian terror cell escaped Cyprus. One suspect, an Azeri hitman with a Russian passport, was arrested by Cypriot security authorities near a building where Israeli businessmen maintained offices. A pistol, silencer, and gloves were found in his rental car parked nearby.
However, Cypriot authorities stated that they don’t believe Iran is behind the assassination plot, Cypriot media reports said. The Azeri national is not cooperating with police and refuses to answer questions. He is facing 11 charges, including attempted murder, terror activities, belonging to a criminal organization, conspiracy to commit a crime, and being in the country illegally.
According to Cypriot media reports, the Azeri arrived on the island from Russia about three weeks ago.
Earlier this year, Iranian agents who scoped out Israeli, US and Emirati embassies in an unidentified East African country in order to plan a terror attack were arrested. The arrests occurred in the same month that a bomb exploded outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, India. Indian Police found an envelope near the site of the blast with the words “For Israel Embassy” written on it and an enclosed letter mentioning the “Iranian martyrs” – Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani and top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
In 2020, the Mossad thwarted planned or attempted Iranian attacks on Israeli embassies in Europe and elsewhere.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)