By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Diplomatic Circles Report
Security officials in Azerbaijan arrest three men suspected of being sent by Iranian intelligence officials to assassinate Israeli ambassador Michael Lotem. Some reports say a nearby Chabad house was also targeted. Suspicious letters reportedly sent to several Israeli consulates in the U.S. and Europe.
The suspects allegedly purchased weapons and explosive materials and claimed their aim was to avenge recent assassinations of Iranian scientists. Iran has accused Israel and the West of a string of mysterious explosions in Iran that have killed several nuclear scientists and damaged arms depots in an effort to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. Israeli officials have neither confirmed nor denied involvement, while Western officials have vehemently denied involvement.
According to some reports about the alleged plot the target was not the embassy but a nearby Chabad house and rabbis who run the Ohr Aner School in Baku. In 2008, an attempt was made to detonate a car bomb near the embassy, reportedly in an effort to avenge the death of Hezbollah mastermind Imad Mughniyeh, who had been killed in a bomb blast in Damascus earlier that year. Hezbollah accused Israel of murdering Mughniyeh. Israel has never admitted responsibility for the incident.
"At this time when our enemies in the north are refraining from offensive activity for fear of harsh retaliation, we are seeing an effort on the part of Hezbollah and other hostile groups to carry out vicious terrorist attacks far from Israel's borders," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said today. "I suggest they don't test our resolve."
A senior defense official told "Israel Hayom" today that several factors were behind the recent wave of attempt to attack Israelis abroad, which had included the discovery of a terror cell in Thailand and a failed attempt to attack Israelis in Bulgaria. As well as retaliation for the recent spate of mysterious attacks on Iranian scientists, another motive might be the fourth anniversary of Mughniyeh's death. The official also cited anti-Israeli sentiments stirred by the Arab Spring uprisings as a possible motive for terrorist organizations to attack Israelis. According to the official, there have been other attempts to harm Israelis outside the country that have not yet been publicized.
Meanwhile, the FBI said a suspicious letter containing a white powder was found at the Israeli consulate in Atlanta, similar to letters found at other Israeli consulates during the past two days, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution today. "There are a lot white-powder letters that are going to Israeli consulates around the country. There may be more out there," FBI spokesman Chris Allen said.
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