Cypriot police arrested a Pakistani man on suspicion of planning to harm Israeli businesspeople staying in the country, the In-Cyprus news website said on Wednesday.
According to the report, a 27-year-old Paphos resident, originally from Pakistan, was arrested after police forces raided his apartment and confiscated three cellphones from his home.
The arrest took place after police examined phone records belonging to the main suspect, a 38-year-old Russian national who was arrested in Nicosia in September while carrying a weapon. Last week, a Cypriot court extended his detention.
Earlier this month, Israel said that Iran had attempted to carry out a “terror attack” targeting Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus, following reports of an attempted assassination of Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Teddy Sagi.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement that the “attack didn’t personally target Sagi, bur rather was an Iranian terror attack targeting Israeli businesspeople.
Israeli millionaire Teddy SagiMoti Kimche
“This is not a criminal incident,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s spokesman, Matan Sidi. Sagi, he added, “was not the target.”
The Iranian embassy in Nicosia told Reuters that Israel is “always making such a baseless allegation against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Cyprus, cyberspies and the dark side of Israeli intel
Israel stands with Cyprus in dispute with Turkey over abandoned town, Foreign Ministry says
Villas, maids and no rockets: For Israelis, Cyprus is an island of unlimited possibilities
Defense Minister Benny Gantz addressed the incident and said: “Another Iranian ploy against Israeli has been foiled” adding that Iran continues to pose an international and local threat and a challenge to Israel. “We will continue to protect the state of Israel and our citizen against any threat anywhere.”
LISTEN: Former Mossad chief’s stark warning about Israel and China
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish