Israelis abroad warned about revenge attacks by Iran, ‘be more vigilant’

Israel’s National Security Council warns citizens that Iran may stage revenge attacks against Israeli targets in foreign countries.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) issued a special statement Thursday, warning that Iran is threatening to attack Israeli targets around the world to avenge the assassination of its top nuclear scientist.

Last week Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in a targeted assassination for which the Iranians are blaming Israel, but under a long-standing policy Israel has not formally commented on the incident.

Iran vowed to take revenge against Israel, with extremists threatening calling on the Islamic Republic to bombard the city of Haifa if they could prove Israel was behind the killing.

“In light of the recent threats from Iranian elements and in light of the past involvement of Iranian elements in terrorist attacks in various countries, there is concern that Iran will try to act in this way against Israeli targets,” the NSC said in a rare public warning.

“Possible arenas for such activity are countries near Iran – such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the Kurdish region of Iraq as well as the Middle East and the African continent,” the statement said.

The NSC also warned Israelis that jihadist organizations may also be ramping up their attempts to attack Israeli and Jewish targets, cautioning that “it is possible that part of the current wave of Islamic terrorism will reach destinations identified with Israel or Jewish communities, synagogues, kosher restaurants and Jewish museums.”

“We call on the public planning to visit abroad, including official and business delegations, to be more vigilant – including near Israeli missions, synagogues and Jewish community institutions – to obey the security guidelines of local authorities, to stay away from crowded areas and to avoid public areas that are not secured or in the vicinity of government institutions,” the NSC said.

Israeli embassies and missions worldwide went on a heightened state of alert, Kan News reported.

Only days before the assassination, media reports said the IDF was preparing for the possibility that the U.S. might take military action against Iran before President Donald Trump’s term ends in January.

Observers speculated that any Iranian retaliation for the assassination would be tempered by considerations of how Iran wants to deal with President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on January 20.