Alleged Iranian terror operative Yousef Shahbazi Abbasalilo, in a photo released by the Mossad spy agency on June 29, 2023.
On June 30, the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency announced that it had captured an agent of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who plotted attacks against Israeli targets in Cyprus.
In a statement, the agency said that the agent, identified as Yousef Shahbazi Abbasalilo, was captured during a special operation inside Iran.
Abbasalilo confesses in a video recording released by the Mossad that he was given weapons for the plot by senior officials in the IRGC and instructions on how to attack Israeli businessmen in Cyprus.
The alleged Iranian agent describes following an Israeli target in Cyprus and waiting for an opportunity to kill him. He also names his handler as Hassan Shoushtari Zadeh, a known and senior commander in the Guard’s Foreign Intelligence Branch.
Abbasalilo goes on to claim that the plot failed when police in Cyprus uncovered the plot and he was forced to flee back to Iran as he was being searched for.
According to the Mossad, the information obtained from Abbasalilo led to the dismantling of the rest of the IRGC cell by Cypriot security forces. The plotters included Iranians, Pakistanis and locals.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported earlier this week that the targets of the plot included an Israeli real estate businessman and a Chabad House, as well as hotels and entertainment venues frequented by Israeli tourists. This information was not confirmed by the Mossad, however.
The Israeli intelligence agency said in its statement that it would “continue to act decisively to prevent harm to Jews and Israelis around the world.”
Commenting on the Mossad statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said: “the State of Israel operates using a wide variety of methods in every place to protect Jews and Israelis, and will continue to act to destroy Iranian terrorism wherever it raises its head, including on Iranian soil.”
The fate of Abbasalilo was not clarified by the Mossad. From its side, Iran is yet to comment on the claims made by the intelligence agency.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a decades-long shadow war across the Middle East and beyond. In recent years, there were many reports of Iranian attempts to attack Israeli targets in Cyprus, Turkey, Georgia and Greece. The new alleged plot will added to the tensions between the two regional powers.
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