Joining Iran, Israeli Entrepreneurs Ask US$1 Million To Kill Prime Minister Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu/PHOTO via Instagram @b.netanyahu

JAKARTA - Israeli police and intelligence services thwarted Iran's plans to kill Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.

Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli businessman from the city of Ashkelon, is suspected of twice entering Iran via Turkey to meet with intelligence officials who direct Tehran's evil plans.

The discussions allegedly included potential plans to attack Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Shin Bet intelligence chief Ronen Bar, and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Reported by ABC News, Thursday, September 19, police and Shin Bet said the alleged plan was in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Hanieyh in Tehran in July, in which Iran blamed Israel.

A joint police statement and Shin Bet also suspected Maman was discussing the possibility of acting as a money courier for other parties in Israel, seeking Russian and American partnerships to eliminate Tehran's opponents in Europe and the US, and recruiting Mossad's "double agents".

Maman is said to have come into contact with an Iranian businessman named Eddie, a man named Hajjah as an Iranian intelligence agent and other unnamed intelligence personnel.

The 73-year-old was rushed to Iran twice in May and August 2024 after a preparatory meeting with Eddie representatives in Turkey, the first to take place in the southern city of Samandag in April 2024.

Maman was'smuggled' through Turkey-Iran borders twice, and the second was 'hidden in a truck cabin,' the statement said.

Israelis are asking for an advance payment of USD 1 million before taking any action, police and Shin Bet said.

Iranian agents rejected his request and told him they would contact him in the future.

Maman allegedly received around 558,000 US dollars in euro form for attending a meeting with Iranian intelligence personnel.

Authorities charged Maman on September 19.

A senior Shin Bet official described the case as very serious, and stated a security assessment showing Iran will continue their efforts to recruit agents in Israel to gather intelligence and carry out terrorist missions in Israel, including approaching individuals with criminal backgrounds to meet these demands.