A police source in Colombo told Iran International that an assassination plot targeting Israelis in Sri Lanka, linked to the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, has been foiled, and Israeli citizens are now under special protection.
On Wednesday, Israeli authorities warned all citizens to leave Sri Lanka with immediate effect after the plot was uncovered targeting Israelis holidaying in the country.
Two people have been arrested, one of whom Iraqi, with others believed to have been involved, according to a source inside Israel, speaking to Iran International anonymously.
A police source in Sri Lanka told Iran International that currently, 577 Israelis are being given "maximum security" in an operation which spans the police and military.
"They are safe," he said. "But they are targeting Israelis because of the Iran and Israel issue." The investigation is ongoing with fears others involved are yet to be found, he said.
Israel's former head of Interpol, Asher Ben Arzi, said Sri Lanka has become a popular holiday destination for Israelis.
However, he told Iran International that "it's a very easy place for Iran, because Iranian agents can meet Israelis and make them a target there". He added: "Until now, there was never such a security problem relating to Israelis in Sri Lanka."
The US Embassy also warned citizens that they had received “received credible information" warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area.
“Due to the serious risk posed by this threat, the Embassy imposed a travel restriction on Embassy personnel for Arugam Bay effective immediately and until further notice,” a statement said.
US citizens were "strongly urged to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further notice.”
Iran expert Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst, said Malaysia has traditionally been a key base for Iran to carry out attacks around Asia, and even allowed them to springboard across to Europe.
"But north India has also harbored Shia groups recruited by Iran," he said.
Since the November 27, 2020, assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the head of Iran's military nuclear program, an act attributed to Israel, Iranian security forces have orchestrated attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets across four continents: Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.
Cash for killing plots under the command of specific units in the Quds Force and Ministry of Intelligence who recruited and operated Iranian agents alongside local recruits, have since become common, most recently, even inside Israel.
In 2022, an operation against the Israeli embassy in India led to weeks of security alerts in the country, with dozens more plots uncovered since in countries from Azerbaijan to the UK and Cyprus.
