Vladimir Verhovski, 35, had agreed to kill an Israeli scientist and had obtained weapons to carry out the task. The police said that he was also hired to perform missions for Iranian intelligence including graffiti, distributing flyers and collecting information on Israeli officials
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The Israeli police on Wednesday arrested a man from Petah Tikva in central Israel for allegedly plotting the assassination of a scientist at the orders of Iran for a prize of $100,000.
Vladimir Verhovski, 35, had agreed to kill an Israeli scientist and had obtained weapons to carry out the task. The police said that he was also hired to perform missions for Iranian intelligence including graffiti, distributing flyers and collecting information on Israeli officials.
Israel’s Shin Bet said that Verhovski’s correspondence with his handlers in Iran was in English and that he communicated with them using a special phone.
The case comes at a time when Iran and Israel are engaged in confrontation, keeping West Asia on edge.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Shin Bet uncovered a covert Iranian network operating to hire Israeli citizens.
Last month, another Israeli man was arrested for plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran’s instructions.
According to a joint statement from the Shin Bet and Israel Police, the suspect was covertly transported to Iran on two occasions and was paid to undertake assignments for Tehran.
“In recent months, we’ve exposed several networks of Iranian intelligence operatives working to recruit Israeli citizens for various missions, including plans to harm individuals in Israel. We identified and monitored numerous fictitious Iranian profiles on social networks and gathered information about the entities behind their operation. Exposing this activity led to the arrest and interrogation of Israeli citizens who were tempted to carry out these missions,” a Shin Bet official had said at the time.
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