Sept. 19 (UPI) — A Jewish Israeli businessman appeared in court Thursday in southern Israel in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Moti Maman, 73, was allegedly twice smuggled across the Iranian border from Turkey. During the second visit in August Iranian officials tasked him with conducting operations on the payroll of Tehran including advancing plots to kill Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant or domestic security chief Ronen Bar, Shin Bet and Israel Police said in a joint statement.
Authorities allege the first meeting with a mystery Iranian business contact named Eddy in May, saw Maman asked to carry out missions for the Iranian regime including cash or handgun drops at specified locations, taking pictures of busy public spaces and pressurizing other Israeli operatives who were not following orders from their Tehran paymasters.
When he returned for the second meeting, among other plans, it was suggested Maman recruit Americans or Russians to kill Iranian critics of the regime living in Europe and the United States and also to try to “turn” a Mossad operative to work as a double agent.
The assassination plots against senior serving Israeli officials, Shin Bet alleges, were viewed by the Iranians as retaliation for the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July which Iran says was carried out by Israel.
Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Naftali Bennett was also noted as a possible target for assassination by the officials.
Mamen is alleged to have asked for a $1 million advance payment before taking on any assignment but in the end received only a one-off $5,580 payment for attending the meetings, prior to his arrest on his return to Israel in August.
“At a time when the State of Israel is at war on several fronts, an Israeli citizen goes to an enemy country on two different occasions, meets with Iranian intelligence agents, and expresses a willingness to carry out serious terrorist acts on Israeli soil. His actions helped Iran and its intelligence agents in their campaign against Israel,” the Times of Israel quoted an unnamed senior Shin Bet official as saying.
The case demonstrated the “enormous efforts of Iranian intelligence agents to recruit Israeli citizens to promote terrorist activities in Israel,” added the official.
Mamen’s lawyer said he was cooperating fully with the investigation and maintained the intelligence he had provided had helped the security agencies.
“It can already be said that this is a person who has greatly assisted the security services of the State of Israel, whose children serve in the security forces, and who made an error of judgment in the context of his business,” said Eyel Besserglick.
The case came days after Israel said it had foiled plots by Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy military force in neighboring Lebanon, targeting former high-ranking defense officials including Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon and a full-scale Israel-Hezbollah war edged closer after communication devices belonging to alleged Hezbollah fighters exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing dozens and injuring thousands.
