The Mossad spy agency announced that in a special operation in Iranian territory, it had caught the Iranian terrorist sent to lead a planned terror attack against Israeli targets in Cyprus.
The Mossad named the man as Yousef Shahbazi Abbasalilo and published a video of his interrogation by its agents, in which he confessed to the plot and gave details on it. It said Abbasalilo was given weapons for the attack from senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and instructions on its implementation.
The spy agency said the plan was to target Israeli businessmen in the small island nation. The information obtained from Abbasalilo led to the dismantling of the rest of the terror cell by Cypriot security forces, Mossad said.
The plotters included Iranians, Pakistanis and locals. Abbasalilo named his handler as Hassan Shoushtari Zadeh, a known and senior figure in the guard’s foreign intelligence branch¹.