Turkish authorities said that they had detained several people who were allegedly working for an Iranian intelligence cell that was planning to kidnap and kill Israeli tourists in Istanbul, including an Israeli ambassador and his wife.
The news of the arrest came several weeks after Israel ordered its citizens in Istanbul to leave the region immediately, warning of an imminent Iranian attack targeting Israelis in Turkey. Officials said that among those targeted for kidnapping include a former Israeli diplomat and his partner, whose names were not revealed.
Plot To Kidnap, Kill Israelis in Turkey
Israel's Mossad spy agency chartered a private plane to bring the pair and others back to the country immediately, said reports. The suspects who were arrested, who were not all Iranian nationals, were detained in a raid last week in three houses in Istanbul's famous Beyoglu District. It was reported that eight people were arrested concerning the alleged kidnap and kill plot.
On Thursday, Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported that Turkish authorities detained five Iranian nationals on Wednesday who was suspected of involvement in the alleged plot to assassinate Israeli citizens in Istanbul, as per the Times of Israel.
The reports came as Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in Turkey on Thursday for high-level talks amid a recent rapprochement between the two countries after years of frayed ties. The terror warnings had both strained ties as Ankara chafed at being portrayed as an unsafe tourism destination in international media reports.
The situation has also allowed the two countries to showcase newly revived ties by cooperating on intelligence and security. Israel was reportedly considering somewhat walking back its warning following Lapid's visit, with the travel advisory revised to state that only non-essential travel should be canceled rather than all visits.
According to Aljazeera, Lapid thanked Turkey on Thursday for its swift response to the alleged plot. He also warned that Israel would not "sit idly by" in the face of threats to its citizens from Iran. During his visit to Turkey, Lapid said that the lives of Israeli citizens had been saved in recent weeks thanks to the security and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Turkey.
Foiled Terror Attacks
He added that the alleged plot was not only about the murder of innocent Israeli tourists but also a clear violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iranian terror. Lapid noted that they were confident that Turkey knew how to respond to the Iranians regarding the latest incident.
Turkish officials said Iranian intelligence assets and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps operatives impersonated students, businessmen, and tourists to entrap the Israelis. Turkey said the Mossad located the targeted Israelis and flew them to Israel using private planes.
Despite the successful arrests, senior Israeli officials said there still remained an Iranian threat to Israelis in Turkey. They said that at least three Iranian cells had not been arrested and noted that tracking and arresting them would be a lengthy process.
Many officials believe that the Islamic Republic is desperate to get its hands on an Israeli somewhere to show the public a victory in the ongoing war between the countries, the Jerusalem Post reported.
