ISRAEL’s spy agency says it carried out an operation in Iran to capture the suspected head of a hit squad that planned to kill Israelis in Cyprus.
Mossad, which rarely speaks to the media, said the man gave a detailed “confession” about his orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It said it informed authorities in Cyprus, where the cell was dismantled.
The case is the latest reminder of the continuing shadow war between Israel and Iran, which are long-time enemies.
An Israeli expert told the BBC that the unusual openness of Israeli intelligence could have been prompted by reports that the US has quietly restarted indirect talks with Iran to contain its nuclear programme.
“Israel’s interest here in publicising this is to show the world that you might be making a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme, but Iran is a far greater challenge,” comments Yaakov Katz, journalist and author of Israel Vs Iran: The Shadow War.
“It tries to assassinate businessmen in places like Europe; it does a lot more than just enrich uranium.”
Israel’s claims about the Cyprus plot could not be independently verified, and there have been no immediate comments in response from Tehran or Nicosia.
In a statement, Mossad describes carrying out “a unique daring mission within Iranian territory”. It quotes a senior Mossad official as saying: “We will get to every official who advances terror against Jews and Israelis anywhere in the world, including within Iranian territory.”
A video released by Israeli authorities purports to show a man identified as Yousef Shahabazi Abbasalilu, the main suspect in the case, speaking in Persian to a Mossad agent outside Iran.
He describes entering Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus and crossing illegally to the south of the island to kill an unnamed Israeli businessman. He says he had been sent the man’s photograph and address by his handler in the IRGC, a powerful paramilitary force.
