Israel Warns Against Travel to Turkey Citing Iran Assassination

Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
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Israel Warns Against Travel to Turkey Citing Iran Assassination

Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)
Konyaaltı beach amid the COVID-19 outbreak, in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya, Turkey, June 19, 2020. (Reuters Photo)

Israel on Monday warned its citizens against travel to Turkey, citing Iranian threats of revenge for the assassination last week of a Revolutionary Guards colonel.

Teheran has blamed Israel for the killing of Hassan Sayad Khodai, who was shot dead at the wheel of his car by two people on a motorcycle and has vowed retaliation.

According to Reuters, Israel's National Security Council said in a statement that Tehran could be looking to harm Israelis in Turkey and classified it as a "high-risk country."

Turkey is a popular tourist destination for Israelis and the two countries have been mending their ties after more than a decade of strained relations.

Israel has accused Khodai of plotting attacks against its citizens worldwide.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office, which oversees intelligence agency Mossad, has declined to comment on the assassination but Bennett said on Sunday that Teheran would "pay the full price" for instigating attacks on Israelis.



Zelenskiy Says Ukraine's Membership of NATO is 'Achievable'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine's Membership of NATO is 'Achievable'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

Ukraine's membership of NATO is "achievable", but Kyiv will have to fight to persuade allies to make it happen, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech on Sunday.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged NATO to invite Kyiv to become a member. The Western military alliance has said Ukraine will join its ranks one day but has not set a date or issued an invitation.
Moscow has cited the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as one of the principal justifications for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv says membership in the Western alliance's mutual defense pact, or an equivalent form of security guarantee, would be crucial to any peace plan to ensure that Russia does not attack again.
"We all understand that Ukraine's invitation to NATO and membership in the alliance can only be a political decision," Zelenskiy told diplomats at a gathering in Kyiv. "Alliance for Ukraine is achievable, but it is achievable only if we fight for this decision at all the necessary levels."
Zelenskiy said allies needed to know what Ukraine can bring to NATO and how its membership in the alliance would stabilize global relations, Reuters reported.
Last week, Zelenskiy urged European countries to provide guarantees to protect Ukraine after the war with Russia ends and said Ukraine would ultimately need more protection through membership of the alliance.