Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Saturday that a planned Iranian attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus had been thwarted with the help of Cypriot authorities.
“The Revolutionary Guards (the ideological army of the Islamic Republic) attempted to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus,” Sa’ar wrote on X, without providing further details.
“Thanks to the efforts of Cypriot security authorities, in cooperation with Israeli security services, the attack was foiled,” he added.
The announcement comes on the ninth day of the war between Israel and Iran, triggered by Israel’s June 13 strike on the Islamic Republic, and follows the arrest by Cypriot police of a man suspected of “espionage” and “terrorism.”
Local media reported that the suspect had ties to Iran.
Just an hour’s flight from Tel Aviv, Cyprus is a popular destination for Israeli tourists. Larnaca, home to the island’s main international airport, has become a key transit point in Israel’s airlift operation to repatriate tens of thousands of its citizens stranded abroad since its airspace was closed due to the war.
Israeli and Cypriot authorities have previously thwarted several plots targeting Israeli nationals on the island.
“Israel thanks Cyprus for its swift and effective action,” Sa’ar said on X.
He also accused Tehran of “deliberately targeting Israeli civilians both in Israel and abroad,” adding that “Israel will continue to act to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian terror regime.”
AFP
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