Iran tried to assassinate Israeli businessmen in Cyprus – Bennett’s office

OCTOBER 4, 2021 13:52

The planned assassination of Israeli businessmen in Cyprus was an Iranian plot aimed at striking Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s said on Monday.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that Tedi Sagi, the businessman who was initially reported to have been the target, was not the target of the attack. Iran, Israeli security officials said, had tried to attack a number of Israeli businessmen who operate in Cyprus.

Last week, the Cypriot Kathimerini news site revealed that a 38-year-old Russian national of Azeri descent had been arrested for plotting to assassinate a number of Israeli businessmen living in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia.

The case was being kept tightly under wraps due to national security concerns, according to Kathimerini.

An Iranian protester holds the picture of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as she attends an anti US demonstration, marking the 40th anniversary of the US embassy takeover, near the old US embassy in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 2019. (credit: NAZANIN TABATABAEE/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

At least a few of the targeted businessmen were reportedly informed of the plot through intelligence and managed to escape the country in the nick of time.

Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, the founder of the Playtech and SafeCharge companies, was named as one of the businessmen saved from assassination after the security establishment in Cyprus warned him of the planned attack.