Israeli arrested in alleged Iranian plot to assassinate top officials
Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Israeli security agencies announced the arrest of an Israeli citizen suspected of involvement in an Iranian plot to assassinate prominent Israeli officials.
The alleged scheme is reportedly a response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July.
According to a joint statement from the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the police, the suspect was apprehended last month on suspicion that Iran recruited him to target Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Security Minister Yoav Gallant, or Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar.
The statement revealed that “the suspect had been smuggled into Iran twice and received payments for his tasks. He was formally charged on Thursday, though his identity has not been disclosed.”
Investigations by Shin Bet and the police indicate that the suspect, a Jewish businessman who had spent significant time in Turkiye, had business and social connections with Turkish and Iranian nationals.
“In April 2024, the suspect, facilitated by Turkish intermediaries Andre Faruk Aslan and Cuneyt Aslan, agreed to meet with a wealthy Iranian businessman named Eddy to boost business activities,” according to Shin Bet.
The suspect traveled to Samandag, Turkiye, near the Syrian border, where he met representatives sent by the Iranian businessman. During this meeting, the suspect and the Iranian conducted a phone call after the Iranian was unable to leave Iran.
In May 2024, the suspect traveled to Turkiye to meet with the Aslans and Eddy's representatives. After the Iranian businessman was again unable to leave Iran, the suspect was smuggled into Iran via a border crossing near Van, Turkiye, as reported by Shin Bet.
Inside Iran, “the suspect met with Eddy and another individual identified as Khawaja, who introduced himself as a member of the Iranian security forces.” During a meeting at Eddy’s home, the Israeli suspect presented himself as an Israeli citizen, according to the investigation.
Eddy proposed various tasks for the suspect, including “sending money or a firearm to specific locations, photographing crowded public areas, and threatening Israeli civilians working for Iran who had not completed their tasks,” according to Shin Bet.
The suspect initially considered the proposal but returned to Iran in August 2024. He was smuggled in concealed inside a truck, according to the investigation.
Revenge for Haniyeh’s Assassination
Shin Bet reported that during a meeting at Eddy’s home, Iranian intelligence officials asked the suspect to carry out assassinations of Netanyahu, Gallant, or Bar. They also discussed the possibility of targeting other senior officials, including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
The Israeli security agency stated that the Iranian officials viewed these assassination plans as “revenge” for the killing of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last July, which has been attributed to Israel.
According to the investigation, the suspect requested an advance payment of one million dollars before executing any of the tasks. The following day, he met again with Iranian intelligence officials to “further discuss the assassination plans.”
