A view from the city of Istanbul
Turkish media published new details about the foiled Iranian attack against Israelis in Istanbul, saying that seven of the eight suspects were brought before a judge to extend their remand.
The Ynet news site cited Turkish outlets as revealing that the intended target of the Iranian terror cell was Yosef Levi Sfari, Israel’s former consul general in Istanbul, who was rescued by authorities and sent back to Israel.
According to reports, the Iranian agents were staying at the same hotel in which Levi Sfari and his partner Roni Goldberg were staying for their vacation, alleging that their other targets were Israeli tourists. "The Iranian squad was caught hot red-handed at the last minute," the reports added.
Israeli diplomat Yosef Levi Sfari
Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) revealed the operation last Thursday just before the arrival of Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to Turkey, adding that the eight, who were not all Iranian nationals, were arrested in a raid in three houses in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district a week earlier.
Israeli officials and media began issuing warnings to citizens against traveling to Turkey in the end of May, citing suspected killing or abduction plots by Iran, which has vowed to avenge the May 22 assassination of a Revolutionary Guards colonel in Tehran that it blamed on Israeli agents.
Israel’s National Security Council lowered the threat level in its travel warning from high to medium on Tuesday.
Reports said on Wednesday that Egyptian security officials also warned Iran not to operate on Egyptian soil during recent meetings among intelligence officials.