Israeli citizens visiting Istanbul have been told to stay in their hotel rooms and lock doors over fears that terrorist undercover agents from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard will attempt to carry out a deadly attack on Israelis who are in the Turkish city.
On Friday evening, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said “Iranian agents are trying to hunt down innocent Israeli civilians this evening in Istanbul.”
“If any Israeli citizens will be harmed, it would bear heavy implications upon the murderous regime in Teheran,” Danon said in a tweet.
Israel has issued an urgent Level 4 alert urging Israelis to avoid travelling to Istanbul due to an “escalation” in the threat posed to them by Iranian agents.
The country’s national security headquarters has told Israeli citizens to leave Istanbul as quickly as possible and to avoid non-essential travel to the rest of Turkey.
One government source has told local media that the order for an attack has been put out and that Iranian agents may go room to room in the hunt for Israelis.
“Not everything can be frustrated,” the source was quoted as saying in reference to the fact that Mossad agents operating undercover in Turkey may not be able to stop an attack.
Turkey’s government has criticised recent warnings about travel to the country and says security forces have successfully prevented any recent terror attacks. In 2016, a coordinated attack at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport that involved shootings and suicide bombings killed 45 people and injured 230.
Istanbul is not the “Turkish capital”. Ankara is the capital.