Overview
- Israeli authorities, led by the Mossad and Shin Bet, say they disrupted an operation to infiltrate an operational cell into Israel that was intended to target senior Israeli figures and former officials.
- The Mossad identified the recruited organizer as Thérot Ozkor (alias “Philip”) and named two Iran-based intermediaries known as “Babak” and “Nadim,” while naming four alleged Iranian intelligence handlers and saying one, Asadollah Behzad Oskhari, was killed during Operation Rising Lion.
- Israeli officials say the plot relied on criminal proxy networks that recruited people able to enter Israel to gather intelligence and later carry out attacks, and that international intelligence cooperation exposed the network and its handlers.
- In direct response to the threat assessment, the Shin Bet tightened protection for multiple senior figures and Israeli authorities kept the prime minister’s Washington flight details secret, moved the Wing of Zion departure to Nevatim Airbase, and barred journalists from the flight.
- Some intermediaries remain in Iran and are still persons of interest, investigations and international cooperation are continuing, and Israeli agencies say the case fits a years‑long pattern of Iranian attempts to target Israeli and Jewish interests.