 "Israeli citizen Moti Maman stands in a courtroom after he was accused by Israeli security services of involvement in an Iranian-backed assassination plot targeting prominent people including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Beersheba District Court in southern Israel, September 19, 2024. Source: REUTERS.")
An Israeli citizen has been arrested on suspicion of having been recruited by Iran to plot the assassinations of top officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli police, in a joint statement with the Shin Bet domestic security service, on Thursday, said: “An Israeli citizen was recruited by Iranian intelligence to promote assassinations of Israeli figures. He was smuggled twice into Iran and received payment for carrying out missions.”
As per reports, the Israeli citizen had been in custody since August 29.
Who were the targets?
The joint statement further stated that among the alleged targets were PM Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
About Israeli citizen arrested in alleged Iran plot to kill Netanyahu
1 - The man has been identified as 73-year-old Moti Maman of Ashkelon.
2 - According to the joint statement, the man was “a businessman who lived in Turkey for an extended period”.
How the alleged assassination attempt of Netanyahu was plotted
The joint statement mentioned that the suspect maintained connections with Turks and Iranians who introduced him by phone to an Iranian businessman called Eddie.
He then visited Iran for the first time on May 20 to meet Eddie after the latter had “difficulty leaving” Iran.
Apart from Eddie, the suspect also met someone called Hajjah, who was introduced as an Iranian security operative
As per the statement, during his Iran trip, the suspect was asked to carry out security missions in Israel, including transferring “money or a gun”, clicking pictures of crowded public places and threatening other Israelis recruited by Tehran.
The man was “smuggled” to Iran by lorry for a second visit. This time, “he met with additional Iranian intelligence agents who asked him to carry out terrorist activities for Iran on Israeli soil, including promoting assassination attacks,” the statement alleged.
Man tasked to recruit members for Mossad
As per the statement, the suspect was also asked to perform a host of additional tasks, including recruiting members of Israel’s Mossad spy agency to be double agents.
The suspect had asked for a $1 million advance but was given 5,000 euros for taking part in the meetings. He was then told that he would be contacted in the future, the statement alleged.
Proposed assassinations were characterised as revenge for killing of Haniyeh
The joint statement further mentioned that some of the proposed assassinations were characterised as revenge for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of being behind Haniyeh’s death. Israel has not commented on the killing.
With inputs from AFP.