ISTANBUL, Turkey – Turkey has detained several people allegedly working for an Iranian intelligence cell that planned to kill or kidnap Israeli tourists in Istanbul, local media reported on Thursday.
The news of the bust came weeks after Israel ordered its citizens in Istanbul to leave immediately, warning of an impending conspiracy to attack Iran, targeting Israelis in Turkey.
Among those targeted for abduction are a former Israeli diplomat and his wife, Jewish media reported, citing Turkish media. The name of the diploma was not published.
The Israeli spy agency Mossad has rented a private plane to return the two and the others to the country immediately, the reports said.
The suspects, who are not all Iranians, were detained in an attack last week on three houses in Istanbul’s popular Beyoglu district, IHA reported. The newspaper reported that eight people were arrested.
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The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Thursday that Turkish authorities detained five Iranian citizens on Wednesday on suspicion of involvement in the alleged plot to kill Israeli citizens in Istanbul.
Foreign Minister Jair Lapid (left) meets with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on June 23, 2022 (Boaz Oppenheim / GPO)
Reports of the arrests came when Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in Turkey on Thursday for high-level talks amid recent rapprochement between the countries after years of broken ties.
Terrorism warnings have strained ties as Ankara has been angry that it is portrayed as a dangerous tourist destination in international media reports, but has also allowed the two countries to show the newly restored ties by cooperating in intelligence and security.
According to Channel 13 news, Israel is considering withdrawing its warning to some extent after Lapid’s visit, with the travel advice being revised to state that only minor trips should be canceled, not all visits.
However, the warning remains in effect from Thursday night.
“We will finish the job [of thwarting attacks] and we will not hesitate to reduce the travel warning, perhaps in a few days, “a security source was quoted as saying by Channel 12 News.
“We are at the beginning of the end [of the crisis]”, Added the source.
The network, without citing a source, also said it was believed that there were three more Iranian cells in Istanbul.
Iran and Israel have been embroiled in a long-running shadow war, but tensions have escalated after a series of high-profile incidents that Tehran blamed on Israel.
The Islamic Republic said Israel was responsible for the May 22 killing of Revolutionary Guard Colonel Hassan Sayyad Hodai at his home in Tehran.
A building in Istanbul where members of an alleged Iranian terrorist cell targeting Israelis were arrested in mid-June (screenshot of Channel 12; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Act)
Hodai’s assassination was the most notorious assassination in Iran since the assassination of leading nuclear scientist Mohsen Fahrizade in November 2020.
The IHA said Iran had sent agents disguised as businessmen, tourists and students to Istanbul to kill Israelis in retaliation for Hodai’s assassination and other attacks.
It says the Iranians have split into four groups of two assassins who can better pursue their Israeli targets.
The suspects rented apartments and hotel rooms in the area and had $ 30,000 to set up a network of agents.
Turkish policeman walks in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, June 14, 2022 (Yasin Akgul / AFP)
Police seized two pistols and two silencers during searches of houses and hotels where the suspects were staying, according to a Hurriyet report.
“The assassins in the assassination team, who settled in two separate rooms on the second and fourth floors of a hotel in Beyoglu, were [detained] with a large number of weapons and ammunition, “said the IHA.
Later Thursday, Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which also runs operations outside the country, announced it was replacing its intelligence chief, Hossein Taeb, who had served for more than a decade.
Turkish authorities arrest an alleged Iranian cell that tried to attack Israelis in Istanbul on June 23, 2022 (Screenshot / CNN Turkey)
Taeb has been repeatedly cited in Jewish media reports as the man behind the planned attacks on Israelis in Turkey.
The commander of the guard, Major General Hossein Salami, has appointed General Mohammad Kazemi as head of the intelligence organization, the Iranian agency Tasnim reported.
Hossein Taeb, head of the IRGC intelligence organization. (Wikimedia Commons)
The reported arrests are the first time Turkish media have reported on the Iranian attacks, which have been headlined in Israel for more than two weeks amid warnings from Iranian cell workers at large in Turkey.
A report last week alleges that several Israelis visiting Istanbul were taken out of Turkey last week by Israeli security officials who acted on intelligence showing that visitors were at imminent risk of Iranian assassins.
Media reports that Israeli and Turkish intelligence are cooperating in capturing a network of Iranian operatives and that several attacks have been thwarted were confirmed on Monday by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Bennett said Israeli and Turkish security officials worked together to thwart attacks on Israelis in Turkey.
Turkish authorities arrest an alleged Iranian cell that tried to attack Israelis in Istanbul on June 23, 2022 (Screenshot / CNN Turkey)
“In recent days, in a joint Israeli-Turkish effort, we have thwarted a number of attacks and a number of terrorists have been arrested on Turkish soil,” Bennett said.
The prime minister did not include details on the number of attacks, how many people were arrested, or the nationality of the terrorists.
Turkish authorities arrest an alleged Iranian cell that tried to attack Israelis in Istanbul on June 23, 2022 (Screenshot / CNN Turkey)
The outgoing prime minister also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for co-operation.
Israel has issued a series of repeated harsh warnings to Israeli travelers in recent weeks to avoid visiting Turkey.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs a cabinet meeting in the office of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem on June 19, 2022 (Alex Kolomoisky / Poole)
There are currently an estimated 2,000 Israelis in Turkey. On Sunday, Channel 12 reported that fewer Israelis were heading to the country without providing updated data or sources.
Israeli media reported that the Iranians had been planning attacks for months, apparently in retaliation for the killings of senior officers and others accused by Israel.
The agencies contributed to this report.
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