Tel Aviv: The Israel general security service has recently arrested Israelis that were recruited by Iran to perform intelligence missions in Israel. One such cell was asked to kill the commander of one of the Israeli Air Force’s main bases.
According to Iran international, the website operated from London by the opposition to the regime in Tehran, the commander of the Nevatim Air Base in Southern Israel, is secured around the clock after a plot to assassinate him was foiled by Israel.
An Israeli security source, speaking exclusively to Iran International on condition of anonymity, said, “That’s not a standard procedure for everyone, only those with a threat on them such as the chief of staff, the Air Force chief, but now they put security on him and his family as he was exposed.”
According to the website, he was one of the targets of an Iran-backed cell of Azeri-Israelis, arrested last month after a years-long relationship with Iranian agents gathering intelligence on military sites, strategic targets, and key personnel.
The Nevatim air base was one of the targets of last month’s almost 200 ballistic missile barrage, with multiple strike sites revealed from satellite imagery, including damage to the roof of a hangar.
Last month, seven Azerbaijani immigrants to Israel were accused of working for Iran for two years, carrying out 600 operations, including sharing information on the air bases targeted in the ballistic missile barrage from Iran. Other plots foiled by Israel in recent weeks by Iran-backed cells inside Israel include the assassination of a nuclear scientist.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda