Israel’s counter-terrorism bureau has issued a warning, asking for caution against "the escalation of Iranian threats to Israelis who are outside the country.”
The warning came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about to ask US President-elect Joe Biden not to return to the "old, bad and failed" nuclear agreement, and amid his assertion that "the Iranian leadership understands nothing but the language of firmness.”
The counter-terrorism bureau called on Israeli physicists and nuclear scientists to refrain from traveling abroad and to act cautiously even in their daily lives inside Israel.
“In light of the recent threats made by Iranian parties, and in view of the previous involvement of Iranian parties in committing terrorist operations in various countries, there is a fear that Iran will attempt to act in this manner against Israeli targets,” the warning said.
It added that possible arenas for such actions are the neighboring countries of Iran, including Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, as well as the Middle East and the African continent.
The Israeli bureau said there is a risk that the holiday season during December and January 2021 will be used to commit hostile terrorist operations in Europe.
It appealed to those visiting abroad, including official and commercial delegations, to be extra vigilant (including when near the Israeli representation headquarters, synagogues, and Jewish community institutions), to respect the security instructions issued by the local authorities, to stay away from crowded areas, and avoid being in public places that are not guarded, or located near government institutions.
Political sources revealed that the Israeli security services directly addressed nuclear experts and senior officials who worked at the Dimona nuclear reactor to be vigilant, in anticipation of Iranian retaliation for the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and informed them of the ban on traveling abroad without prior permits.
