Message to Israeli officials: Iran is seeking revenge, precautions taken

Israeli ministers and senior officials, both past and present, have received warnings in recent days from security agencies regarding concerns that Iran may attempt to harm various figures as part of its efforts to seek revenge for the assassination of top leadership in Tehran. Among other things, they were presented with a general warning regarding the threat to senior officials. In light of these alerts, the Shin Bet will increase security for Israeli figures and has instructed them to break their routines and take precautionary steps.

Following these concerns, an unusual decision was made to change the departure location of the “Knaf Tzion” plane, which carried Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, from Ben-Gurion Airport to the Nevatim base, while keeping takeoff times and flight routes secret.

Increased caution has also been adopted in the United States following Iranian threats. On July 9, the “New York Times” reported that the U.S. Secret Service recommended that President Donald Trump fly from Turkey on the old “Air Force One” plane rather than the new one gifted by Qatar, as a security precaution. Later, the “Wall Street Journal” reported that the plane replacement occurred after U.S. officials received intelligence from Israel regarding a possible assassination plot against Trump. Some U.S. sources questioned the reliability of the threat, fearing that Israel shared the intelligence to influence U.S. decision-making regarding Iran.

Subsequently, on July 25, the “Times” reported that the sudden replacement of the “Air Force One” planes during Trump’s flight back from the NATO summit in Turkey stemmed from a “credible threat” of an attack by “Iranian proxy forces.” CBS later reported that U.S. authorities had identified a real plot to launch a missile at the aircraft.