by Roman Meitav
One of the targets, according to the report, was the former Israeli ambassador and his wife who were staying at a hotel in Istanbul.
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart Isaac
Herzog review a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony in Ankara,
Turkey March 9, 2022.
(photo credit: MURAT CETINMUHURDAR/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
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Just before the arrival of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to Turkey, Turkish intelligence revealed on Thursday that it managed to thwart an Iranian attack attempted in Istanbul last Friday, Israeli media reported.
According to intelligence reports, Iranians planned to kidnap Israeli diplomats and tourists in Istanbul. The report states that the perpetrators were already in Istanbul. One of the targets, according to the report, was the former Israeli ambassador and his wife who were staying at a hotel in the city.
Turkish intelligence and local police arrested close to ten suspects last Friday, including local collaborators, at the Sol Hotel and three other rented apartments in the Istanbul area.
Iranian intelligence members and Revolutionary Guards members impersonated students, businessmen and tourists, Turkey said that the Mossad located the Israelis who were supposed to be the target of the attack, and flew them to Israel in a private plane.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid had previously urged citizens in Turkey to leave “as soon as possible” over threats that Iranian operatives are actively planning to kill or abduct Israelis in Istanbul.
The stark warning had come amid the latest surge in tensions between Iran and Israel, after a string of attempted attacks on Israelis staying in Turkey.
Israel's warnings
Israel reportedly put off issuing the warning for some time in order to give Turkish authorities a chance to resolve the threat internally. Ultimately counterintelligence operations were done in cooperation between Mossad and Turkish authorities, whom Prime Minister Bennett praised this week.
“The operational efforts with the Turkish security forces have borne fruit,” Bennett said in a press briefing last week. “In recent days, in a joint Israeli-Turkish effort, we thwarted a number of terrorist attempts, and numerous terrorists were arrested on Turkish ground.”
“In recent days, in a joint Israeli-Turkish effort, we thwarted a number of terrorist attempts, and numerous terrorists were arrested on Turkish ground.”
Naftali Bennett
Previous attempts
Israeli security forces evacuated Israeli citizens from Istanbul last week, rushing them to an airport to leave the country just before they reached their hotel room, allegedly ahead of an Iranian hit squad that was intent on kidnapping or killing them.
Israel called on its nationals in Turkey to lock themselves in hotel rooms and be wary of opening the doors even for service staff and delivery people.
“I call on all Israelis in Turkey to obey the instructions of the security forces,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement Saturday evening. “Israel is working to thwart Iranian attempts to carry out an attack, and is preparing to respond forcefully to any attack on Israeli citizens — anywhere.”
Head of intelligence "promoted"
Iran has dismissed the powerful chief of the Revolutionary Guards intelligence service, Hossein Taeb, Iran's state TV reported on Thursday, Allegedly following repeated failures to carry out operations against Israelis in Turkey.
The station gave no further details about the dismissal of Taeb who, before becoming the Guards Intelligence Chief in 2009, worked at the office of Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
TV said Taeb has been appointed as an advisor to Guards Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Roman Meitav
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-710182
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