The head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad has accused Iran of plotting attacks on the occupying regime’s interests around the world, threatening to assassinate senior Iranian officials as he claims Tel Aviv is prepared to strike “the heart of Tehran.”
David Barnea claimed at an annual conference of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism Policy (ICT) at Reichman University in the Israeli city of Hrezliya, north of Tel Aviv, on Sunday that Mossad had foiled 27 anti-Israel attacks “orchestrated, masterminded and directed by Iran” over the past year.
“The captured squads and the weapons seized alongside them all had specific targets,” Barnea said, adding that the attempts occurred “all over the world, in Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America.”
Barnea claimed, “All of this was under Iran’s direction and guidance. We are currently working to track Iranian squads to prevent them from harming Jews and Israelis worldwide.”
The Mossad chief said Israel would go after the agents involved in the plots as well as the commanders who sent them to carry out the attacks, warning that Israel’s response would go all the way to Iran’s “highest echelon.”
“The time has come to exact a price from Iran in a different way,” Barnea said, claiming, “Harming Israelis and Jews in any way — by proxy, by Iranians, or by Iranian weapons smuggled into Israel — will lead to activity against the Iranians … and also against the decision-makers, from the ground operators to the commanders who approved the operation, to the highest echelon.”
Barnea warned, “These prices will be exacted with great precision in the depths of Iran, in the heart of Tehran.”
The head of the Israeli spy agency also briefed the participants on the structure of Iran’s intelligence community, using a chart that featured Major General Hossein Salami, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib at the top.
Iranian officials have on numerous occasions condemned Israel’s threat to use military force against the country’s military, non-military and vital infrastructure, stressing that Tehran will not hesitate to respond decisively to any threat or wrongful action by the Tel Aviv regime.
Iran-Russia cooperation
Pointing to the long-time military cooperation between Iran and Russia, Barnea claimed that Iran intended to provide Russia with short- and long-range missiles in addition to drones that would be used in Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
The head of the spy agency said Israel was concerned about Russia selling advanced weaponry to Iran that could pose an existential threat to the occupying regime.
“Our fear is that the Russians will transfer to the Iranians in return what they lack, advanced weapons that will certainly endanger our peace and maybe even our existence here,” Barnea said.
The Mossad chief also expressed his worries about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and a potential agreement with world powers that would see sanctions on the Islamic Republic eased.
