Mossad says Iranian plot to target senior Israeli officials foiled

The office of the Israeli prime minister announced, citing Mossad, that it had foiled a plot allegedly orchestrated by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence to target senior Israeli officials. The operation was carried out in cooperation with international intelligence agencies.

According to the statement, the plan relied on recruiting individuals of foreign nationalities and sending them into Israel to gather intelligence on the targeted officials in preparation for attacks against them.

Mossad said that Iran, as described in the statement, uses networks of intermediaries to recruit individuals inside Israel or those able to enter the country, with the aim of carrying out security missions after surveillance and intelligence gathering are complete.

The statement added that a French national named Tharwat Ozkour, also known as "Philippe," was responsible for recruiting an operational cell made up of foreign nationals, in preparation for sending them to Israel.

Mossad indicated that "Philippe" was recruited by two individuals said to be linked to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and residing in Iran: Babak Makhoo Zadeh Haji Javan and Mohammad Nadim Yigit. The statement added that both are connected to drug trafficker Naji Sharifi Zindashti, whom Israel accuses of working for Tehran in carrying out overseas operations.

According to the statement, "Philippe" visited Iran several times, where he met his handlers and received payments for carrying out assigned tasks. Mossad also reported that international investigations led to the identification of several Iranian intelligence officials suspected of overseeing the operation.

The statement clarified that among these officials is Asadollah Behzad Okhsari, described as a key planner of operations targeting Israeli and Jewish interests, who was reportedly killed in a previous Israeli operation.

Mossad and the Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet affirmed that, in coordination with their international partners, they will continue efforts to thwart what they described as terrorism and espionage attempts targeting Israeli and Jewish interests both inside Israel and abroad.