THOUSANDS OF ISRAELIS TARGETED BY IRAN

Iranian intelligence targets thousands of Israelis

Security officials reveal hundreds marked "high-risk". With the murder of Chabad rabbi Zvi Kogan apparently being a result of device breach, it is clear Iran's threat extends to defense establishment personnel, including senior officials.

 

By Yoav Limor  

 

Israel Hayom

Nov 24, 2024

 

 

Iranian women hold pictures of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 

 

Iranian intelligence services have assembled comprehensive profiles of thousands of Israelis, identifying them as potential targets in both domestic and international operations, security sources reveal. Several hundred individuals have been designated "high-risk" targets, with some receiving explicit threats from Iranian operatives. The scope of targeting encompasses current and former defense officials, academics, and scientists, Israel Hayom has learned.

This systematic campaign, sustained for more than a decade, represents Iran's calculated response to a series of assassinations of Iranian scientists and officials attributed to the Mossad and Israel. Tehran has retaliated by establishing terror cells across multiple countries, seeking to strike Israelis residing in or traveling to these locations.

Planned attacks have been uncovered in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Thailand, and several Western European nations. Most were prevented through timely intelligence sharing between Israel and local security agencies, resulting in real-time arrests of Iranian terror cells and operatives across multiple jurisdictions.

The operation has seen significant expansion in recent years, propelled by Iran's advancing cyber capabilities. This technological sophistication enables dual-track operations: enhanced gathering of intelligence about Israeli targets and accelerated recruitment of operatives, who initially may be unaware of their Iranian handlers.

Iranian operatives have exploited vulnerabilities in databases, phones, and computers to harvest comprehensive personal details of thousands of Israelis – including passport data, identification numbers, residential addresses, email accounts, mobile numbers, family information, employment details, and social networks.

This intelligence enables precise tracking of targets' movements and future plans, allowing Iran to identify optimal attack opportunities. Such surveillance methods, particularly mobile device infiltration, is believed to have been carried out by the Iranian cell that assassinated Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE, whose body was discovered on Sunday.

Device compromise typically occurs through deceptively innocent text message links or calls from unknown numbers, which, when engaged with, grant remote access to mobile devices and their stored data.

 

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses Iranian students during a meeting with them in Tehran, Iran, November 2, 2024.

While most monitored individuals reside in Israel, Iran has made direct contact with several targets, issuing explicit threats. Some received mock "birthday greetings" for themselves or family members, including ominous warnings about not reaching their next birthday. The surveillance extends to defense establishment personnel, including senior officials.

Iran's recruitment efforts have intensified markedly. The cell responsible for Kogan's killing reportedly operated from Uzbekistan, with similar cells using various nationalities believed to be active globally. Security forces recently arrested one such cell in Sri Lanka planning attacks against Israelis, and yesterday's upgraded travel warning for Thailand likely reflects similar intelligence.

Particularly concerning is Iran's successful large-scale recruitment within Israel itself. Recent weeks have exposed multiple cells recruited remotely, operating under Iranian direction for financial gain to gather intelligence on security installations and specific individuals. Some received instructions to begin practical preparations for attacking Israeli targets. Arrests include Israeli Jews and Arabs, plus Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem.

The domestic targeting operation focuses on several hundred "high-risk" individuals, including current and former senior defense officials, academics across various fields, and scientists. All have received security agency warnings and instructions to maintain heightened vigilance while avoiding unnecessary international travel.

Intelligence assessments project Iran will escalate these efforts imminently, driven by mounting losses in the current war – both direct casualties and damage to its proxies, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. While the Shin Bet and other security agencies have successfully thwarted Iranian attempts thus far, Tehran's massive investment in personnel, funding, and technology, combined with the discovered willingness of some Israelis to collaborate with Iranian handlers, creates potential for successful attacks both within Israel and abroad.