Israel urges nationals to leave Turkey immediately over Iran attack threat

• Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid asks Turkish citizens to evacuate “as quickly as possible”.
• There are fears that Iranian operatives are planning assaults on Israelis in Istanbul.
• Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, with Tehran accusing Israel of a series of killings aimed at senior Iranian officials.

Yair Lapid, Israel’s Foreign Minister, asked Turkish citizens to evacuate “as quickly as possible” due to fears that Iranian operatives are planning assaults on Israelis in Istanbul.

“It’s a genuine and present danger,” Lapid told a meeting of his Yesh Atid party’s MPs, noting “many Iranian attempts to carry out terror attacks against Israelis on vacation in Istanbul.”

“Return to Israel as quickly as possible if you are already in Istanbul,” Lapid advised. “If you have a flight to Istanbul planned, you should cancel it.” He went on to say that “no vacation is worth your life.”

“Do not fly to Turkey at all,” the foreign minister added, unless it is “necessary.”

Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, with Tehran accusing Israel of a series of killings aimed at senior Iranian nuclear and military officials.

Iran has just claimed responsibility for the assassination of Revolutionary Guards Col Sayyad Khodai, who was shot dead outside his Tehran residence on May 22.

There was no mention of any claimed Israeli operations inside Iran by Lapid.

However, he claimed that some Israelis who had lately visited Turkey had returned “without realising their lives had been saved.”

According to Lapid, the suspected attackers were targeting Israeli nationals “in order to abduct or kill them.”

Israel’s national television Kan reported earlier Monday on Iranian plots to kidnap Israelis in Turkey a month ago, which were stopped after Israel notified Ankara to the threat.

Without going into detail, Lapid commended the Turkish government “for the effort they’re making into protecting the lives of Israeli residents.”