Security upped for IDF base commander after Iranian assassination plot — report

 

The military has reportedly put in place heightened security measures for a commander at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, following an Iranian scheme to assassinate him.

An Israeli defense official told Iran International, an Iranian opposition media outlet based outside of the Islamic Republic, that the security arrangements for the commander are “not standard procedure,” but are similar to those provided for high-ranking officials like the IDF’s chief of staff.

The official said that the commander was targeted by Iran because the Nevatim Airbase “is in itself so strong a target for Iran. It’s not just fighters. It’s intelligence. It’s multi-disciplinary and a strategic base.”  

Channel 12 news reported that the target of the plot was Brig. Gen. Yotam Sigler, the commander of the airbase.

Nevatim is a major airbase in southern Israel, and is home to the Israeli Air Force’s most advanced aircraft, including US-produced F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets. The base was one of the main targets of two unprecedented Iranian ballistic missile attacks, one in April and one in October, sustaining minor damage in both strikes.   

Iran International said that the assassination plot was foiled after the arrest of seven Israelis of Azerbaijani descent, who had been working for Iran for the past two years.

The suspects, all Jewish, were arrested in September on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out some 600 missions at the behest of the Islamic Republic. 

The suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information on IDF bases and facilities, including the Kirya defense headquarters in Tel Aviv and the Nevatim and Ramat David airbases, on behalf of Iranian agents with whom they were in contact through a Turkish intermediary. 

In return for their actions, the suspects were allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of it in cryptocurrency, and some of it in cash that was delivered by Russian tourists.  

Israel Police Chief Superintendent Yaron Binyamin, who heads the Lahav 433 serious crimes unit, called it “one of the most severe cases we’ve ever investigated. There is a real possibility that the main charge will be aiding the enemy in wartime, for which the penalty is death or life imprisonment.”

The Shin Bet in recent months has uncovered a series of alleged Iranian plots to recruit Israelis into carrying out missions, including assassinations.  

In September, a man from the southern city of Ashkelon was arrested on allegations that he was smuggled into Iran twice and received payment to carry out missions on behalf of Tehran, and was recruited to assassinate either Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet.  

Then, on October 14, a man and his 18-year-old partner, both from Ramat Gan, were arrested on charges they carried out various acts of sabotage and vandalism on behalf of an Iranian agent.

On October 16, the Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of a man from central Israel, who allegedly acquired a weapon in order to kill an Israeli scientist on instructions from an Iranian agent, after performing several smaller tasks on the agent’s behalf.

Most recently, on October 31, an Israeli couple from Lod were indicted on suspicion of spying for Iran. Officials said the two gathered intelligence on key national infrastructure sites and followed an academic figure at a security think tank that Iran allegedly intended to harm physically.  

https://www.timesofisrael.com/security-upped-for-idf-base-commander-after-iranian-assassination-plot-report/