Turkey detained eight Iranians targeting Israeli tourists

• The eight were arrested at three homes in Istanbul’s popular Beyoglu neighbourhood.
• Iran has blamed Israel for the murder of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai.
• The reported detentions are likely to come up during Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to Ankara.

ISTANBUL: Turkey nabbed eight people suspected of working for an Iranian intelligence group that plotted to kill Israeli tourists in Istanbul local media claimed Thursday.

The eight, who were not all Iranian nationals, were arrested at three homes in Istanbul’s popular Beyoglu neighbourhood last week, according to the private Turkish news agency.

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Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for years, but tensions have escalated after a series of high-profile incidents that Iran has blamed on Israel.

On May 22, the Islamic Republic asserted that Israel was responsible for the murder of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai at his Tehran house.

In retribution for Khodai’s murder and other attacks, Iran allegedly dispatched agents masquerading as business people, tourists, and students to Istanbul to murder Israelis, according to the Turkish news.

It was stated that the Iranians had divided into four groups of two assassins each who could track their Israeli targets more effectively.

IHA stated that a substantial number of guns and ammunition were seized along with the assassination team’s occupants of two separate rooms on the second and fourth floors of a Beyoglu hotel.

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After years of hostility, Turkey’s relations with Israel have been mending, with tourism at the centre of their economic relationship.