Iranian Netanyahu assassination plot foiled, Israeli man charged
Israeli authorities indicted a Jewish Israeli man for being recruited by Iran to pursue an assassination plot against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.
Moti Maman, 73, told authorities he had a "lapse of judgment" and is now cooperating with law enforcement. Israeli police arrested Maman in August, saying he had twice visited Iran to meet with intelligence officials who gave him various tasks to conduct in Israel.
During his latest trip to Iran in August, Israeli authorities say Iranian intelligence proposed assassination plots against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.
Authorities say Maman demanded a $1 million advance payment in exchange for his participation, but Iran paid him only 5,000 Euros.
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"This is a very serious affair that is an example of the great efforts of the Iranian intelligence agencies to recruit Israeli citizens to promote terrorist activities in Israel. The security officials assess that the Iranians will continue their efforts to recruit operatives in Israel to gather intelligence and carry out terrorist missions in Israel while also turning, among other things, to elements with a criminal background to carry out the missions," a senior Shin Bet official said in a statement.
"At a time when the State of Israel is at war on several fronts, an Israeli citizen goes to an enemy country on two different occasions, meets with Iranian intelligence agents, and expresses a willingness to carry out serious terrorist acts on Israeli soil. His actions helped Iran and its intelligence agents in their campaign against Israel," the statement continued.
News of Maman's indictment comes days after a massive Israeli operation targeting pagers used by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy terrorist group in Lebanon.
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The explosions of hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday and the detonation of a second wave of electronic devices a day later remain a mystery, though experts are calling the deadly blasts a sophisticated attack that likely took months of planning.
The two waves of bombings killed at least 37 people, including at least two children, and wounded more than 3,000 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
Hezbollah has used pagers to communicate for years, and the group’s leader recently called on members to stop using cell phones altogether over concerns that Israeli intelligence could track the devices.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility for the waves of explosions, its intelligence agency, Mossad, is widely credited for the operation.
Hezbollah and Lebanon immediately pointed fingers at Israel following the explosions on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that Israel was behind the pager explosions.
Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report