Iran is stepping up attempts to kidnap or harm Israelis abroad, Israeli authorities warn

Israel’s National Security Council (Malal in Hebrew) released an urgent warning to Israeli citizens, calling them to beware of increasing attempts by the Iranian regime to kidnap or otherwise harm them during travel abroad.

In a Tuesday morning statement, the Malal also revealed the method employed by Iranian intelligence agents in a recent attempt to lure an Israeli businessman to a meeting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The businessman was contacted by an Iranian agent through the Telegram application.

He posed as a representative of the Persian department of the Saudi al-Arabiya news outlet, a rare Arabic-language outlet that isn’t outright hostile to Israel.

The agent tried to convince the businessman to meet him in Dubai for an interview, while sending malicious links and files intended to enable access to his phone data.

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— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 14, 2025

When he became suspicious, the businessman alerted Israeli authorities who determined that several characteristics of their discussion, including the request for an “interview” about the Iranian regime, indicated that an Iranian agent was behind the contact.

“This affair highlights the potential risk for the Israeli public in managing contacts with unknown parties who are making unusual inquiries online,” the Malal stated.

“In particular, when the application is accompanied by requests to receive personal details, information about movements abroad and/or sending files/links to the mobile device/e-mail address.”

To reduce the risk, the Malal called on Israelis to maintain privacy on social networks and avoid sharing details like phone numbers, real-time locations and plans for the future.

“Providing these details will help terrorist elements to collect important information about the potential target for harm, and to adapt the nature and outline of the contact with it, to increase the chance that it will respond positively to attempts to establish contact and various offers.”

While Iran’s intelligence has always been working to harm Israelis across the world, there has been a massive jump in revelations of such attempts since the war began in Oct. 2023.

Some two months ago, three Uzbek terrorists kidnapped and murdered the Israeli Rabbi Zvi Kogan. While the investigation of the case has focused on the possibility of Iranian involvement, there hasn’t been an official confirmation yet.

In addition, Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet has thwarted numerous attempts to bribe Israeli citizens to carry out their orders, including attempted assassinations.