ARAB AND WORLD
Tue 14 Jan 2025 4:55 pm - Jerusalem Time
Israel accuses Iran of trying to kidnap businessman
The Israeli National Security Council accused Iran on Tuesday morning of trying to kidnap an Israeli businessman by luring him to a third country.
The council explained in a statement that Iranian elements contacted the Israeli businessman via the Telegram application, claiming to be journalists working in the Persian section of an Arab media outlet, and expressed their desire to conduct an extensive interview with him about the economic situation in the Middle East and Iran's role in this field, and asked him to travel to a third country to achieve this goal.
The council also claimed that these people sent him malicious links and files aimed at hacking his mobile phone without his knowledge.
The Israeli businessman became suspicious of these attempts and quickly informed the police in his town, who in turn referred the case to the intelligence service. Through the initial investigation, the intelligence service concluded that the Iranian elements had tried to lure him to travel to a third country, where it was planned to target him there.
The Israeli National Security Council praised the businessman's vigilance, stressing that the behavior of the Iranian elements was suspicious, and that the content of the conversations with him was clearly aimed at luring him into harming him.
The National Security Council spokesman stressed that this is not the first time that the Iranians have tried to target Israeli businessmen and academic figures in several countries around the world with the aim of kidnapping or killing them. He expressed his belief that there are Israeli figures currently being subjected to similar attempts.
The spokesman called on all Israeli figures, regardless of their interests or professions, to be wary of similar or any other attempts to ensnare them. He also urged them to avoid communicating with figures they do not know well, and stressed the need to regulate the publication of private material about their lives and work on social media.
A senior official in the National Security Council told the Hebrew media: “This form of Iranian terrorist aggression is gaining momentum recently. They see it as an innovation in Iranian security activity. They are trying to lure Israeli figures by inviting them to participate in scientific and professional conferences, focusing on businessmen, scientists, academic researchers, and workers in medical institutions. The goal is to bring these Israelis to a third country, where the Iranians have the infrastructure to target that Israeli, or they will adapt themselves as part of the developments.”
A senior official in the National Security Council told the Hebrew media: “This type of hostile Iranian terrorist activity has witnessed a noticeable escalation recently, and they consider it an innovation in Iranian security activity.”
“They are trying to lure Israeli figures by inviting them to participate in scientific and professional conferences, with a special focus on businessmen, scientists, academic researchers and medical workers,” he continued. “The goal is to lure these Israelis to a third country, where Iran has the infrastructure to launch attacks against them, or to adapt their plans to match developments on the ground.”
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Israel accuses Iran of trying to kidnap businessman