Iranian authorities described Friday, June 24 as “ridiculousthe words of the head of Israeli diplomacy, Yair Lapid, who accused Tehran of planning attacks targeting Israeli nationals in Turkey.
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On Thursday, visiting Ankara, the Israeli Foreign Minister thanked the Turkish authorities for having, according to him, thwarted “attempted terrorist attacksfrom Iran targeting Israeli tourists in Istanbul. He also denounceda flagrant violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iranian terrorism“. The same day, Turkish media reported the arrest of eight people, including Iranians, suspected of preparing anti-Israeli attacks in the metropolis.
“Premeditated conspiracy”
On June 13, Yair Lapid called on Israeli nationals not to travel to Turkey and to leave “as soon as possiblethe country for those there, for fear of Iranian attacks. “These baseless allegations (…) are ridiculous and part of a premeditated plot to destroy relations between the two Muslim countriesIranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said in a statement on Friday. “We hope that Turkey will not remain silent in the face of these allegations.“, he added.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for years, but tensions have escalated following a series of high-profile incidents that Tehran has blamed on Israel. On May 22, Colonel Sayyad Khodai, a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army, was shot dead outside his home near Tehran by assailants on a motorbike. Two other officers have also died in the past month, one in a reported accident and the other in a shooting.
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On Thursday, the Guardians, who accused the “zioniststo be behind the assassination, announced that they had replaced their intelligence chief Hossein Taeb, in office for 12 years. According to Said Khatibzadeh, Iran’s response to these assassinations will be “powerful” but “will not threaten the safety of civilians abroad“.
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