Israel says it has thwarted Iranian plans to assassinate a US general in Germany, a journalist in France and an Israeli diplomat in Turkey. “These terrorist attacks were commissioned, approved and funded by the top leadership of the Iranian regime,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said on Sunday. “They should be carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Guards (IRGC).”
An agent charged with the assassination was arrested and interrogated on Iranian soil a few months ago, the statement said. Israeli radio reported on Sunday that it was a member of Iran’s Al-Quds Brigades. The agent was released after being arrested and interrogated by the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad and is currently in a European country. He admitted receiving $150,000 to prepare for the attacks and a promise of $1 million more after the attacks.
Israeli media released a video purporting to show the agent. He confessed to the murder plans and expressed remorse.
Iran considers Israel its archenemy. There have always been Iranian politicians and clerics who have questioned Israel’s existence. Israel currently sees its greatest existential threat in the Iranian nuclear and missile program. Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia have expanded their presence in Syria in recent years. Israel’s air force repeatedly attacks targets in the neighboring country to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold there. Tehran also supports Israel’s enemies in the region, such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel has vehemently opposed Tehran’s call for the Revolutionary Guards to be removed from the US terror list.