The Israeli Police and Public Security Service announced (Shin BetToday, Wednesday, an Israeli was arrested, recruited by Iran to assassinate an Israeli scientist, according to what Israeli media reported.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the authorities arrested a resident of Tel Aviv on suspicion of carrying out tasks for Iranian intelligence, including writing on walls, distributing leaflets, and collecting information about Israeli targets.
According to officials, Vladimir Varkhovsky (35 years old) agreed to assassinate an Israeli scientist in exchange for $100,000 and obtained a weapon to carry out the mission.
The Shin Bet said, according to what the newspaper reported, that communication with its operators was in English.
The accused is expected to appear before the Lod District Court for a hearing to extend his detention later today.
Two days ago, the Israeli police and the Shin Bet announced that they had “thwarted an Iranian attempt to assassinate Israeli officials by recruiting Israelis.”
The police and the Shin Bet said in a joint statement on Monday, “An infrastructure of Iranian intelligence services that works to recruit citizens in Israel has been uncovered.”
The statement indicated that Vladislav Viktorson (30 years old), a resident of the city of Ramat Gan, was arrested for investigation, and that investigations revealed that since the beginning of last August, Vladislav had been in contact in Hebrew via social media networks with an agent named Mary Hosie.
The statement added, “According to the results of the investigation, Vladislav agreed to liquidate a person in Israel (whom he did not name) and throw a hand grenade into a house. He then worked to obtain weapons, including sniper rifles, pistols, and hand grenades.”
Last September, the Shin Bet announced the arrest of Israeli businessman Moti Maiman (72 years old) from the town of Ashkelon, on charges of cooperating with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its intelligence.
Since the beginning of this October, Tehran has been anticipating a possible attack that Israel might launch against it, after Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel.
Iran said that its attack was in response to Israel's assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh In Tehran, and the Secretary-General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah And a general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the southern suburb of Beirut, in addition to its ongoing massacresGaza Strip And Lebanon.
Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies + Israeli press