Cyprus thwarts Iranian-backed terror targeting Jews, Israelis

June 25, 2023

Iranian-funded plan to murder Israelis and Jews in Cyprus prevented by Cypriot authorities, according to reports.

By World Israel News Staff

Cypriot intelligence agencies and security forces successfully thwarted an Iranian terror plot to harm Jewish and Israeli targets in the country, according to reports on Sunday.

Cyprus-based Phile News reported that the government had been informed of potential terror attacks planned and financed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with the U.S. and Israeli governments believed to have raised concerns with their Cypriot counterparts.

According to Phile News, terrorists were planning to use the disputed northern Cyprus territory, which is occupied by Turkey, as the base for their attacks.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is officially recognized as an independent country only by Turkey, and is seen de jure as part of Cyprus by the United Nations.

Although the Phile News report was scant on details of the terror plot, the goal of the foiled attack was to murder Cypriot residents and citizens of Israeli and Jewish origin, the outlet stated.

The reports come two years after a similar plot was stopped by Cyprus, with help from Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

In 2021, an Azeri man who held Russian citizenship was arrested by the Cypriot government for his role in a plot to assassinate Israeli businessmen in Cyprus.

That man was also reportedly funded and supported by the IRGC.

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“Iran continues to be a global and regional threat as well as a challenge to Israel,” said then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the time of that thwarted plot.

“We will continue to act to protect our citizens and the security of the State of Israel everywhere and in the face of any threat.”

The Israel-based Alma Research & Education Center said in 2021 that “Iran continues its attempts to attack Israeli civilian targets around the world through the Quds Force. So far, Iran has struggled to carry out an effective attack on Israel’s borders and is therefore looking for other courses of action.”

Iran’s embassy in Cyprus denied responsibility for the plot in a statement to Reuters, saying, in reference to Israel, “this regime is always making such a baseless allegation against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”