In Israel, a man was detained for plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Minister of Defense or the head of the Shin Bet – media

In Israel, a national was detained last month after he was “allegedly recruited by Iran to advance a plot to assassinate the prime minister, the defense minister or the head of the Shin Bet” (Israel’s general security service), the country’s authorities said on Thursday. UNN with reference to The Times of Israel.

Details

The Shin Bet and the Israeli police said in a joint statement that “the suspect was smuggled twice to Iran and was paid to carry out tasks on behalf of Tehran.”

The suspect, identified as 73-year-old Moti Maman of the southern city of Ashkelon, was indicted on Thursday after the Shin Bet released details of the investigation.

According to the Shin Bet and the police investigation, Maman was a businessman who lived in Turkey for a long time, where he had business and social relations with Turkish and Iranian citizens.

“The security agency said that at Eddie Maman’s house he met with Iranian intelligence officers who asked him to “prepare assassination attempts” on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant or Shin Bet head Ronen Bar,” the newspaper writes.

“According to the investigation, Iranian intelligence officials also considered the possibility of killing other high-ranking officials, including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett,” the report said.

The Shin Bet said that “the assassination plans are seen by Iranian officials as revenge for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, which has been attributed to Israel,” the newspaper said.

According to the investigation, Maman asked for $1 million before completing any of the tasks.

News channel 12 News, citing an insider familiar with the details of the investigation, reported that “during the entire interrogation, the suspect did not deny the charges.” Maman’s lawyer said his client made an “error of judgment” and is cooperating fully with authorities in the investigation.

A senior Shin Bet official described the case as “a very serious case that exemplifies the enormous efforts of Iranian intelligence services to recruit Israeli citizens to promote terrorist activities in Israel.”

The official said that “the Shin Bet assessed that Iran would continue its efforts to recruit Israeli civilians for espionage missions and to carry out terrorist attacks, especially by contacting Israelis with criminal backgrounds,” the newspaper said.

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