The Mossad said Thursday that Iran had attempted to infiltrate foreign operatives into Israel to assassinate senior Israeli figures, in an unusual statement detailing what it described as a global terror network directed by Tehran.
According to the statement, published by the Prime Minister’s Office on behalf of the Mossad, the plot was uncovered and thwarted through cooperation among Israeli and international intelligence and security services.
Image of the Iranian operatives released by the Mossad
The Mossad said officers from Iran’s Intelligence Ministry recruited foreign nationals to advance attacks against senior Israeli officials inside Israel.
The agency said Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, together with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, has in recent years led a global terror campaign against Israeli and Jewish targets. It added that Tehran has recently intensified efforts to carry out attacks within Israel itself.
Advanced counterterrorism capabilities used by the Mossad and Shin Bet, together with close cooperation with intelligence and security agencies worldwide, have led to the disruption of dozens of Iranian attack networks, the statement said.
“These operations saved many lives and enabled investigative and legal action against those involved in terrorism,” the Mossad said.
Israeli authorities have exposed and thwarted numerous Iranian attempts over the past two years to recruit people inside Israel to carry out missions on Tehran’s behalf.
The latest case involved an attempt by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry to infiltrate foreign attackers into Israel to target senior Israeli figures.
According to the Mossad, Iran’s method involved recruiting criminal proxy networks, which in turn activated individuals already inside Israel or people capable of entering the country. Their task was first to gather intelligence on the intended target and later to carry out the attack.
Cooperation between the Mossad, Shin Bet and intelligence services abroad, along with investigations conducted in several countries, exposed the criminal proxy infrastructure and the Iranian Intelligence Ministry officers directing it, the statement said.
A man identified as Tharwat Ozkour, known as “Philip,” who had lived in France, was allegedly responsible for recruiting an operational team of foreign nationals and preparing to infiltrate them into Israel.
According to the Mossad, Philip was recruited by two criminal proxies, Baba Mahou-Zadeh Haji Jafan, known as “Babak,” and Mehmet Nedim Yigit, known as “Nedim.”
The two men are currently living in Iran under the protection of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, the statement said.
They are also known to have links to drug lord Naji Sharifi Zindashti, whom the Mossad described as a criminal figure used for years by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry to promote terrorist operations.
Philip traveled to Iran several times to receive instructions, meet his handlers and collect payment for advancing the missions, according to the statement.
International investigations uncovered links between Babak and Nedim and their alleged handlers in Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. The officers were identified as Assadollah Behzad Ohsari, Vahid Masoumi, Mohammad-Hossein Zoghi and Hamid Ghasemi.
The Mossad said Behzad Ohsari played a central role in Iranian Intelligence Ministry efforts to carry out attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets. It said he was killed during the “Roaring Lion” war.
Philip, meanwhile, was expelled from France because of his involvement in planning Iranian-directed terrorist activity, the statement said.
Babak and Nedim continue to operate from Iran in efforts to activate terrorist cells and remain of interest to intelligence services worldwide, according to the Mossad.
The agency said the case again exposed Iran’s “proxy by proxy” method, designed to distance Tehran from terrorist activity carried out on the ground and shield it from diplomatic and political consequences.
“Despite the effort to avoid leaving an Iranian fingerprint, the proxy method repeatedly reveals the negligence of operatives in the field, ultimately exposing their handlers in Iran,” the statement said.
The Mossad and Shin Bet said they would continue working with international partners to detect and thwart terrorist and espionage activity against Jewish and Israeli interests in Israel and abroad, and to pursue those involved through legal and security channels.