Mossad says it caught Cyprus terror plot assassin in Iran
Israel’s Mossad spy agency announced Thursday that in a special operation in Iranian territory, it had caught the Iranian terrorist sent to lead a planned terror attack against Israeli targets in Cyprus.
The Mossad named the man as Yousef Shahbazi Abbasalilo and published a video of his interrogation by its agents, in which he confessed to the plot and gave details on it, The Times of Israel reports.
It said Abbasalilo was given weapons for the attack from senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and instructions on its implementation. The spy agency said the plan was to target Israeli businessmen in the small island nation.
In his interrogation, Abbasalilo recounted following a target for assassination and waiting for an opportunity to kill him but said police eventually caught wind of the plot and he was forced to flee back to Iran as he was being searched for.
Abbasalilo named his handler as Hassan Shoushtari Zadeh, a known and senior figure in the Guard’s Foreign Intelligence Branch.
In the video, Abbasalilo said Shoushtari Zadeh “discussed with me what he was planning to do in Cyprus. He told me, you need to enter northern Cyprus, where we have certain people who can send you from there to southern Cyprus.”
Recent years have seen several foiled Iranian attempts to kill Israelis in Cyprus, Türkiye, Georgia, and Greece. The Times of Israel has been told that other attacks have been thwarted without the matter reaching the media.
Mossad in its statement said it would “continue to act decisively to prevent harm to Jews and Israelis around the world.”
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