Israeli rabbi kidnapped in UAE, sparking fears of Iran's involvement

An Israeli rabbi has been kidnapped in the United Arab Emirates, according to Israeli officials, giving rise to suspicions that his abduction may be related to Tehran's plan to avenge Israel's October 26 air strikes on Iranian military targets.

The rabbi, identified by the Israeli government as Zvi Kogan, was a Chabad emissary who may have been followed by the Iranian intelligence, according to Israeli media reports.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the Mossad intelligence service is investigating Kogan's disappearance on Thursday.

The office said the incident is being treated as terrorism. A dual Israeli-Moldovan national, Kogan has been part of the Abu Dhabi Chabad chapter since Israel normalized its relations with the United Arab Emirates in late 2020.

Walla News, citing Israeli officials, said he has been abducted in Dubai. Ynet also cited security sources as saying that the rabbi was likely abducted from the kosher supermarket he managed in Dubai.

Israel's Channel 11 reported that the rabbi has been kidnapped by a cell directed by Iran, which apparently managed to escape to Turkey. The Ynet report also confirmed that the perpetrators are believed to have fled to Turkey.

Senior Israeli officials told Walla News that the focus of investigations was "a terrorist squad of Uzbek origin that operated in Dubai on behalf of Iran and allegedly carried out the abduction and then fled to Turkey."

The Mossad and the Israeli National Security Council say Israel's intelligence indicated "he may have been under surveillance by terrorist elements," the Walla report added.

While Israel has not yet accused Iran of involvement in the abduction, Western officials believe Tehran runs intelligence operations in the UAE and keeps tabs on the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country, according to the Associated Press.

In one of the most recent cases in 2020, German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd was abducted by Iranian agents from his hotel in Dubai while on a layover. He was later transferred to Iran and sentenced to death.

On 5 November 2024, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said Sharmahd died in custody on October 28 before he could be executed.

Kogan's abduction comes as Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel over the October 26 air strikes, which according to Israeli and US officials, knocked out Iran's last three Russian-provided S-300 air defense missile systems and left the country "naked".