Twenty-seven Iranian acts of terror against Israelis foiled

Israel’s intelligence service Mossad prevented 27 Iranian acts of terror, targeting Israelis in Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America, according to Mossad chief David Barnea.
In mid-September Barnea warned that Iran’s leaders would pay a high price if Israelis or Jews were harmed in what he described as an ongoing, state-organized, Iranian terrorist effort worldwide.

Iran is building a military airport near the city of Jezzine (pictured) in southern Lebanon, 20 kilometers from Israel’s border, according to Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Photo: Abdallah/Flickr

David Barnea stated that Iran’s terror campaign was carried out in line with a “political directive from the leader”, referring to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, forewarning the Iranian leadership. If Israelis or Jews are harmed, he warned, Israel’s response would go all the way to the “highest level.”

It was at the annual conference of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University in Herzliya on September 10 when Barnea revealed that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its allies had prevented 27 Iranian attacks on Jews and Israelis abroad in the past year.

– The perpetrators who were captured, and their weapons seized, all had designated targets, he said, noting that the attempts occurred “all around the world, in Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America.”

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented around the same time on an Israeli air strike that had targeted sites in Syria in mid-September.
– Last night we received further proof that in the State of Israel the thunder from the airplanes is louder than all other background noises. In the end, what matters is performance, not talk, Gallant said at a reception for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Staff in attendance.

The Israeli airstrikes targeted an area near Hama in central Syria where a action named Project 99 is located at a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) near Tal Qartal, south of Hama, according to Alma. Satellite imagery from Thursday morning shared on social media showed a number of buildings demolished at the site, the Jerusalem Post writes.

Defense Minister Gallant also claimed that Iran has built an airport just 20 kilometers from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. He showed satellite images of the area where he said an airstrip has been built, images later shared by the Associated Press news agency. Hezbollah has cordoned off the area in southern Lebanon as a military zone and civilians are therefore prohibited from entering the site. According to Gallant, the airport is located near the Lebanese village of Birket Jabbour and the city of Jezzine.

Gallant’s statement came the same day the US Congress was notified of an agreement between the Biden administration and Iran, a country the US classifies as a state sponsor of terrorism. The agreement included a prisoner exchange and the US releasing six billion dollars of Iranian oil money.

The National Security Council said Secretary of State Antony Blinken has taken steps to ensure that those funds “can be moved from one restricted account to another and remain restricted to humanitarian efforts,” Fox News reports. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told NBC on Tuesday that Iran will use the money as it sees fit.

“This money belongs to the Iranian people and its government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,” Raisi said, without elaborating on what the funds will be used for.