Israel’s security services said Thursday they had arrested an Israeli citizen on suspicion of involvement in an Iran-backed assassination plot targeting prominent figures, including the prime minister.
A statement said the man was a businessman with connections in Turkey who had attended at least two meetings in Iran to discuss the possible assassination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant or the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency.
The arrests took place last month, according to a joint statement by the Shin Bet and Israeli police.
Moti Maman, the suspect, appeared in court on Thursday.
The incident highlights the intelligence war that is taking place alongside escalating conflict on Israel’s border with southern Lebanon.
Last week, the Shin Bet uncovered what it said was a plot by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior defense official, later identified as former army chief of staff and defense minister Moshe Ya’alon.
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The announcement of the arrests on Thursday came a day after Hezbollah was hit for a second straight day by a sophisticated attack that remotely detonated communications equipment.
The explosions on handheld radios killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 450. A day earlier, hundreds of Hezbollah pagers exploded simultaneously, killing 12 people, including two children, and wounding thousands more.
Some experts say the explosion of wireless communications equipment in Lebanon, part of a series of attacks believed to have been carried out by Israel, may have violated the laws of war. Brian Finucane, senior adviser for the U.S. program at the International Crisis Group, discussed the issue on Canada Tonight.
Israel has not commented directly on the attack, but security sources said Israel’s Mossad spy agency was responsible.
Israel has a long history of intelligence operations in Iran, which allegedly include the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in July at a state guest house in Tehran.
The Shin Bet said the latest arrests showed efforts by Iran to recruit Israelis to gather intelligence and carry out terrorist missions in Israel, including by using individuals with criminal backgrounds.
According to a Shin Bet statement, the plan began in April this year, when the Israeli citizen agreed to meet a wealthy businessman living in Iran for business purposes.
After being told by representatives that the businessman, identified only as Adi, could not leave Iran, the Israeli man was smuggled into Iran from eastern Turkey, where he met Adi and others, including a man identified as an Iranian security official, the statement said.
The Iranian side proposed that he carry out tasks for Iran including transferring money or weapons, photographing crowded places or threatening other Israeli civilians operating on behalf of Iran who did not carry out the requested mission.
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He returned to Israel but returned to Iran a second time in August, smuggled in a truck, the statement said.
On the second visit, it is said that Iranian officials asked him to carry out terrorist attacks for Iran and made proposals to assassinate Netanyahu or Gallant or Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, as well as other operations.
According to the allegations, Iranian officials rejected the Israeli man’s asking price for the service, and only paid him a small amount to attend the meeting.
