Mossad warns of Iran plot to kidnap Israelis

The Israeli General Security Service, Shin Bet, and Mossad revealed an alleged Iranian plot to “attract Israelis to meetings abroad” as a prelude to kidnapping or harming them.

The Jerusalem Post reported Shin Bet warning that “Iran used fictitious social-media profiles on online platforms such as Instagram to contact Israelis who travel abroad frequently for business.”

They used pictures of attractive women as a means to coordinate meetings with “business” or “romantic” pretexts.

“This method bears a strong resemblance to previous intelligence techniques used by agents against Iranian dissidents living in Europe. It has now been employed on Israelis visiting other countries,” the paper added.

The statement said there is a real concern that such activity by Iranian agents could lead to attempts to harm or kidnap Israelis in countries where Iranians are active, including the Gulf states calling on Israelis who have foreign commercial contacts to “exercise caution and vigilance regarding contacts on the Internet and social media from unknown profiles and avoid responding to them”.

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