Mossad Intelligence Agents Thwart 3 Iranian Attacks on Israelis in Turkey

Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, and their Turkey

Tel Aviv - Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, and their Turkish counterparts have managed to thwart three Iranian attacks targeting Israeli civilians in Istanbul. The Mossad operation was revealed by a senior Israeli security official who briefed local media on Friday.

The briefing came after Iran rejected Israel's claims about the three plots that Tehran ordered were "malarkey". The revelations about the Mossad operation came a day after Turkish media reported that 10 people had been arrested as part of an Iranian plot targeting Israeli citizens in Turkey, including a former ambassador.

The Israeli government earlier this month imposed a travel warning against its citizens flying to Turkey. It came after significant intelligence reports suggested Iran was seeking to carry out attacks on Israeli tourists in Turkey to avenge a series of assassinations and attacks on Iran's military and officials linked to its nuclear program.

The Israeli security official said Mossad had directed Turkish authorities against 10 members of an Iranian cell suspected of plotting to kidnap and kill a former Israeli ambassador to Turkey and his wife. The 10 people were arrested Thursday.

Mossad agents chartered a private plane to quickly take the couple and others in Istanbul back to Israel. The diplomat's name has not been released. According to the official, the Mossad managed to thwart two other plots targeting Israelis in Istanbul in recent days, with tourists fleeing the country at the "last possible second".

He said the operation was carried out in coordination with Turkish authorities, thanking them for their efforts in thwarting Iranian attacks to date. A Channel 12 report late Friday (24/6/2022) said two other plots targeted Israelis in Istanbul's markets and in city hotels. It said Iranians and Turks were among those arrested.

The report comes hours after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that Israel's claims that Tehran was targeting Israeli citizens in Turkey were "baseless" and part of a "pre-designed scenario to destroy relations between the two Muslim countries."

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman responded on Twitter: "For several weeks now, Iranian terrorist cells have been trying to kill innocent Israelis on Turkish soil at the direction of the Iranian terrorist government."