Israeli police have arrested an Israeli citizen recruited by Iranian intelligence to plan assassinations of senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, police and the Shin Bet said in a joint statement.
"An Israeli citizen was recruited by Iranian intelligence to prepare assassinations of Israeli figures. He has been flown into Iran twice and received payment for carrying out the missions," the statement said, AFP reported.
It said the targets included Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, as well as other senior officials.
The Israeli national, "a businessman who has lived in Turkey for an extended period of time," had ties to Turkish and Iranian individuals, police said.
Israeli media reported that the arrestee was a Jew from the city of Ashkelon.
Police said that while in Iran, he was asked to carry out security missions in Israel, including transferring "money or weapons" and threatening other Israelis recruited from Iran, before later being asked to plan assassinations.
"This is a very serious case that illustrates the enormous efforts of Iranian intelligence agents to recruit Israeli citizens to promote terrorist activities in Israel," a senior Shin Bet official was quoted as saying. | BGNES
