Iranian plot to kidnap Israeli journalist thwarted

IRGC tried to force childhood friend of Iranian-born Israeli reporter to lure him to Turkey, planned abduction.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran planned to abduct an Israeli reporter by luring him to Turkey under false pretenses, according to a bombshell new report.

News outlet Iranvir reported that the IRGC had attempted to force a childhood friend of Babak Itzhaki, an Iranian-born Israeli journalist, to convince him to travel to Turkey.

From there, IRGC operatives planned to kidnap Itzhaki and transport him to Iran. The plan failed when Itzhaki’s friend refused to participate in the plot, leading to a five year prison sentence.

Itzhaki, an Iranian-born reporter, immigrated to Israel in his early twenties. He is a correspondent for Iran International, an English and Farsi language outlet providing an alternative to news controlled by the Islamic regime.

“Iran International is the free voice of independent news in Iran, and for over seven years, my colleagues and I have been reporting the truth of what is happening in Israel to the Iranian people without censorship. This, of course, greatly angers the Iranian regime, which does not want the people to know the truth,” Itzhaki told Kan News.

The Iranian government has repeatedly targeted Iran International journalists, he said.

Itzhaki told Channel 12 News that one of his colleagues was stabbed in London, and that the Mossad had warned British police of an Iranian plot to bomb Iran International’s London offices.

Iranians who “want to know what’s really going on” watch the channel, which is “what caused the regime to try to shut us down, weaken us, and threaten us.”

The reporter stressed that “neither threats nor acts of terror will stop our reporting of the truth.”

He added that “threats against me are threats against all journalists who uphold free journalism, and I expect all journalistic organizations to issue a statement condemning attacks and threats by the Iranian regime against journalists.”