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Turkey: New Details Revealed on Iranian Cell that Targeted Israelis

A photo published by the Turkish newspaper “Daily Sabah” of one of the members of the Iranian cell who were arrested in Istanbul.
A photo published by the Turkish newspaper “Daily Sabah” of one of the members of the Iranian cell who were arrested in Istanbul.
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Turkey: New Details Revealed on Iranian Cell that Targeted Israelis

A photo published by the Turkish newspaper “Daily Sabah” of one of the members of the Iranian cell who were arrested in Istanbul.
A photo published by the Turkish newspaper “Daily Sabah” of one of the members of the Iranian cell who were arrested in Istanbul.

Turkish sources revealed new details about an Iranian cell that plotted to kidnap and assassinate Israeli citizens in Istanbul and whose members were arrested in June ahead of then-Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to the country.

A report by the Daily Sabah quoted Turkish sources on Sunday as affirming that the cell, comprised of eight Iranians, had been uncovered by the intelligence and Istanbul police.

It published new pictures and details about its plot, noting that its members were staying at the very same hotel as their intended victims in the Taksim Square area on the European side of Istanbul

Their scheme included kidnapping former Consul General of Israel in Istanbul, Yosef Levi-Sfari, and his wife to kill them later. They also planned to attack Israeli tourists in Istanbul.

The plot comes in retaliation to an Israeli operation in Tehran, in which Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodai was shot dead in May.

Israeli media said Khodai was the deputy head of Unit 840 of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, which is responsible for carrying out operations outside Iran.

The sources said security forces found three pistols and silencers with the detained Iranian cell members. The newspaper published a picture of the weapons and ammunition.

They pointed out that the cell members arrived in Istanbul on different dates and met secretly, noting that the Turkish intelligence relocated the Israelis without drawing the attention of the Iranian agents.

In late May, Israel warned its citizens against traveling to Turkey, citing Iranian threats of revenge for Khodai’s assassination. It renewed its warnings in the first two weeks of June.

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.

On July 23, Hurriyet newspaper reported that Turkish authorities detained five Iranian nationals suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate Israeli citizens in Istanbul.

Lapid thanked Turkish authorities for their cooperation in allegedly foiling attacks against Israeli citizens in Turkey and warned that Israel would not “sit idly by” in the face of threats to its citizens from Iran.

He made the comments after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, as the two countries press ahead with efforts to repair ties that have been strained over Turkey’s strong support for the Palestinians.

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Mourners Race to Get Standing Room Spot in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Funeral

Attendees arrive at St Peter's Square with the colonnade in the background ahead of late Pope Francis' funeral in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (AFP)
Attendees arrive at St Peter's Square with the colonnade in the background ahead of late Pope Francis' funeral in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (AFP)
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Mourners Race to Get Standing Room Spot in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Funeral

Attendees arrive at St Peter's Square with the colonnade in the background ahead of late Pope Francis' funeral in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (AFP)
Attendees arrive at St Peter's Square with the colonnade in the background ahead of late Pope Francis' funeral in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of people poured into St. Peter's Square starting at dawn Saturday to honor Pope Francis with a farewell ceremony reflecting his priorities as pope and wishes as pastor: Presidents and princes will attend his funeral Mass at the Vatican, but prisoners and migrants will welcome him into the basilica across town where he will be buried.

As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, which Francis choreographed himself when he revised and simplified the Vatican’s rites and rituals last year. His aim was to emphasize the pope’s role as a mere priest and not “a powerful man of this world.”

It was a reflection of Francis’ 12-year project to radically reform the papacy, to stress pastors as servants and to construct “a poor church for the poor.” He articulated the mission just days after his 2013 election and it explained the name he chose as pope, honoring St. Francis of Assisi “who had the heart of the poor of the world,” according to the official decree of the pope's life that was placed in his coffin before it was sealed Friday night.

Despite Francis’ focus on the powerless, the powerful will be at his funeral. US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, the UN chief and European Union leaders are joining Prince William and the European royals leading official delegations. Argentine President Javier Milei had the pride of place given Francis’ Argentine nationality, even if the two didn’t particularly get along. The pope also alienated many Argentines by never returning home.

The white facade of St. Peter's Basilica glowed pink as the sun rose early Saturday and hordes of mourners rushed into the square hours before the funeral. Giant television screens were set up along the surrounding streets for those who couldn't get close. The Mass and funeral procession — with Francis' casket carried on the open-topped popemobile he used during his 2015 trip to the Philippines — is also being broadcast live around the world.

Some mourners spent the night camped out in surrounding piazzas, and the mood was almost festive as helicopters whirled overhead. Many had planned to be in Rome anyway this weekend for a special Holy Year Mass honoring young people, and groups of scouts and youth church groups nearly outnumbered the gaggles of nuns and seminarians.

Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia.

Francis is breaking with recent tradition and will be buried in the St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome's main train station, where a simple underground tomb awaits him with just his name: Franciscus. As many as 300,000 people are expected to line the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) motorcade route that will bring Francis’ casket from the Vatican through the center of Rome to the basilica after the funeral.

The Vatican said 40 special guests would greet his casket on the piazza in front of the basilica, reflecting the marginalized groups Francis prioritized as pope: homeless people and migrants, prisoners and transgender people.

“The poor have a privileged place in the heart of God,” the Vatican quoted Francis as saying in explaining the choice.

With his burial, preparations can now begin in earnest to host the centuries-old process of electing a new pope, a conclave that will likely begin in the first week of May. In the interim, the Vatican is being run by a handful of cardinals, key among them Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals who is presiding at the funeral and organizing the secret voting in the Sistine Chapel.

Italy is deploying more than 2,500 police and 1,500 soldiers to provide security, which also includes stationing a torpedo ship off the coast, and putting squads of fighter jets on standby, Italian media reported.

Over three days this week, more than 250,000 people stood for hours in line to pay their final respects while Francis’ body lay in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican kept the doors open through the night to accommodate them.

“He was an excellent, humble person who changed many laws and always for the better,” said a pilgrim from his native Argentina, Augustin Angelicola, as he waited in line. “Now it is a sad thing for the whole world that all this has happened. We did not expect it, it had to happen, but not so soon.”

But even with the expanded hours, it wasn’t enough. When the Vatican closed the doors to the general public at 7 p.m. on Friday, mourners were turned away in droves.