‘Antisemitic terrorism’ – Israel outraged over murder of Rabbi Kogan in UAE amid growing fear of Iran's involvement

“The murder of Zvi Kogan, of blessed memory, is an abhorrent act of antisemitic terrorism,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated on Sunday after Kogan’s body was found in the desert around 1.5 hours drive from Dubai, where he was kidnapped last Thursday.

“The State of Israel will use all means and will deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law,” the statement added.

In the evening, the United Arab Emirates Interior Ministry announced it had captured the three perpetrators of the murder and "necessary legal procedures were initiated."

“The competent Emirati authorities were able, in record time, to arrest the perpetrators of the murder of a resident in the country named ‘Zvi Kogan,’” the ministry stated, only referring to Kogan as a Moldovan citizen.

The statement could indicate that initial reports that the murderers had fled to Turkey were incorrect.

Kogan had been living in the UAE for several years, serving as a rabbi in the Chabad movement. According to Israeli media reports, he held dual Israeli-Moldovan citizenship and once served in an ultra-Orthodox battalion within the IDF’s Givati Brigade.

“I would like to express deep outrage – on behalf of myself, all members of the Government, all citizens of Israel and the entire Jewish people – over the abduction and murder of Zvi Kogan, may G-d avenge him,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday’s Cabinet meeting.

“The State of Israel will use all means, and will deal with these murderers, and those who dispatched them, to the fullest extent of the law. None of them will get away,” he vowed, before praising the cooperation of the UAE in the murder investigation.

“We will strengthen the ties between us in the face of attempts by the axis of evil to harm the relationship of peace between us. We will strengthen them and we will work to expand regional stability,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the “vile antisemitic attack” while thanking UAE authorities for their “swift action.”

Following the Iranian regime's direct attacks on Israel this year, and Israel's subsequent response, which included the destruction of much of Iran's strategic aerial defenses, many experts have warned that Iran may attempt terror attacks against Jewish or Israeli individuals or institutions abroad.

While there has so far been no direct indication of Iranian involvement, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel suspects Uzbek citizens with ties to Iran were responsible for Kogan’s abduction and murder.

The WSJ cited a person “familiar with the investigation,” who explained that the Iranian regime has a history of using Uzbeks for covert, foreign missions.

The UAE so far hasn’t published details about the perpetrators’ citizenship.

In addition, the method of kidnapping people from Dubai before taking them to Oman – and from Oman to Iran – has already been attempted in the past.

Kogan’s body was found in a vehicle approximately 150 km (90 miles) east of Dubai, in the direction of the Omani border.

“The case of Jamshid Sharmahd looms large, who was also kidnapped from Dubai then taken to Oman and then onto Iran,” said Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran.

“Israeli sources suggest Iran tracked the Chabad Rabbi who was killed in the UAE by breaching some of his electronic devices, and that this is part of a broader Iranian effort to track and gather data on thousands of Israelis,” tweeted Michael Horowitz, head of Intelligence at the Le Beck International, a leading security and risk management consulting firm.

“For those responsible (likely Iran's regime): I would like to recall the warning from the director of the Mossad in September 2023: if you harm Israelis or Jews in terror attacks, the response would go all the way to ‘the highest echelon’,” Brodsky wrote on 𝕏.

“As [Mossad chief] Dadi Barnea said that September: ‘Harming Israelis and Jews in any way – by proxy, by Iranians, or by Iranian weapons smuggled into Israel – will lead to activity against the Iranians who sent the terrorists and also against the decision-makers, from the ground operators to the commanders who approved the operation, to the highest echelon, and I mean that.’”

Israeli intelligence has thwarted numerous Iranian plots to harm Israelis or Jews abroad in recent years.

In 2022, Israeli intelligence and Turkish authorities foiled an attempt to kill Israeli tourists in Turkey.

In June 2023, the Israeli government announced it had successfully prevented Iran from perpetrating a terrorist attack against Israelis and Jewish visitors in Cyprus.

Hezbollah and Iranian intelligence have also sought to pay Israeli citizens to assassinate Israeli leaders in the country.

Fears of Iranian murder or kidnapping plots moved Israeli authorities to issue a blanket travel warning against visits to all countries bordering Iran this August.