Cyprus Police Back Mossad Claim Of Iranian Assassination Plot

Police in Cyprus confirmed claims by Israel’s Mossad secret service that an Iranian hit squad planned to kill Israelis, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

A security official told the AP that Cypriot police had followed up a tip by “friendly intelligence service” and discovered and Iranian national identified as Yusuf Shahbazi Abbasalilu who was leading the plot.

Mossad released a video in June of the same man being interrogated by its agents and claimed that he was captured in Iran. The video showed him sharing details of his entry into Cyprus through the Turkish occupied north and how he had scoped out the location of the first target for assassination, prepared the weapon and concealed it on word that he must flee just days before the operation.

In the video released by Mossad, he says that the operation was being led by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and faces the risk of also being listed in Europe.

In the past, Israel and Cyprus worked together to foil Iranian attacks on Israelis. Two years ago, an Azerbaijani with a Russian passport, who was acting on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, was arrested by Cypriot intelligence services. The hitman was hired to kill an Israeli businessman.

The Associated Press said that Abbasalilu set up base in the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus but was sent back to Iran after being identified as a security risk.