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.
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.
