Israel arrests citizen over ‘Iranian plot to kill’ PM Benjamin Netanyahu, other top officials
Israel's official statement said that Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior officials were among the intended targets.
Israeli police on Thursday arrested its citizen who was allegedly recruited by Iranian intelligence to plan the assassinations of high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, news agency AFP reported, citing a joint statement from the police and Shin Bet, one of the main branches of the Israeli intelligence community.
“An Israeli citizen was recruited by Iranian intelligence to promote assassinations of Israeli figures. He was smuggled twice into Iran and received payment for carrying out missions,” the statement said.
Also Read | Lebanon serial explosions: Israel says 'centre of gravity' moving north, calls it ‘new phase’ in Gaza war
The statement revealed that Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and other senior officials were among the intended targets.
These accusations follow a series of unprecedented attacks this week, where hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon, resulting in 32 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.
Who is the arrested Israeli citizen?
According to police, the Israeli citizen, described as “a businessman who lived in Turkey for an extended period,” had connections with Turkish and Iranian contacts who introduced him by phone to an Iranian businessman named Eddie.
The individual, identified by local media as a Jewish resident of Ashkelon, first travelled to Iran in May 2024 to meet Eddie but encountered difficulties leaving the country. During this visit, he also met an Iranian security operative known as Hajjah.
The police said that during this trip, he was tasked with various security missions in Israel, including transferring “money or a gun” photographing crowded public areas, and threatening other Israelis recruited by Tehran.
Also Read | Why Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s communication was a tipping point
In August, the investigation revealed that the arrested man was smuggled into Iran in a truck. While in Iran, he met with additional Iranian intelligence agents, who instructed him to carry out terrorist activities on Israeli soil, including facilitating assassination attacks.
Rise in tensions between Israel and Hezbollah
Israel bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday, claiming it had “thwarted” an Iran-backed assassination plot, according to Reuters. This followed explosions involving Hezbollah radios and booby-trapped pagers, escalating tensions between the two adversaries and bringing them closer to war.
The sophisticated attacks on communications equipment used by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah have caused disruption in Lebanon and are raising concerns about a possible return to all-out conflict, last seen 18 years ago.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to address the nation later on Thursday, with many watching closely for insights into the group's response.
With Israel’s defence minister declaring a “new phase” in the conflict and recent explosions in Lebanon tied to an Israeli strike on electronic devices, the likelihood of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah appears increasingly imminent.
(With inputs from agencies)