The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Monday said that Iran was behind an attempted assassination of Israeli businessmen in Cyprus.
“This was a terrorist attack by Iran against Israeli businesspeople living in Cyprus,” Bennett said.
Teddy Sagi, the Israeli founder of the gambling software company Playtech, fled Cyprus after being warned of the assassination plot by Cypriot authorities, Israeli media reported.
Bennett stressed that the plot was a terrorist one, and not a business skirmish as had previously been reported.
“This wasn’t a criminal incident, and businessman Teddy Sagi wasn’t the [specific] target of the attack,” he added.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz also said it was Iranian terror.
“As was publicized recently, an Iranian attack against Israeli targets in Cyprus was foiled,” said Gantz, as quoted by the Times of Israel. “Iran continues to be a global and regional threat, as well as a challenge to Israel, and we will continue to operate in order to protect our citizens and the State of Israel anywhere from any threat.”
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said: “Israeli businesspeople will continue to travel the world. They need to be careful and listen to instructions, but Israel can and knows how to protect its citizens.”
Iran has been accused of attempting to use Cyprus to stage terror attacks against Jews in Europe before. As Breitbart News’ Edwin Mora reported in 2015, citing Reuters:
Iran has been accused of providing support to an alleged Hezbollah operative in Cyprus who was planning to carry out a series of terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish sites in Europe, according to news reports.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides confirmed that authorities in his country likely foiled a plan involving a 26-year-old Lebanese-Canadian man who was planning to build bombs to target Israelis and Jews, reports Reuters.
The Iranian Embassy in Nicosia denied Israel’s recent claim.
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