On December 10, 2023, Cyprus Police, after a surveillance operation in co-ordination with the Cypriot Intelligence Service and information from Mossad, arrested two operatives of the Iranian quds force who were surveilling Israeli targets for a possible attack.[1]
| December 2023 Cyprus terror plot | |
|---|---|
| Part of Iran–Israel proxy conflict | |
| Operation Name | December 2023 Cyprus terror plot |
| part of | Iran–Israel proxy conflict |
| Roster | |
| Initiated by | Cyprus Intelligence Service Mossad Cyprus Police |
| Executed by | Cyprus Police |
| Countries Participated | Cyprus Israel |
| # of Countries Participated | 2 |
| Mission | |
| Target | Quds Force operatives |
| Objective | Disruption to a possible terrorist attack/ assassination of Israeli targets in Cyprus |
| Timeline | |
| Date begin | Unknown |
| Date executed | 10 December 2023 |
| Results | |
| Suspects | 2 |
| Arrests | 2 |
| Accounting | |
Background
As a result of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the threat against Israelis abroad has increased and Cyprus had been a target of previous attempts of Iranian backed attempts on Israeli interests on the island, all of which have been thwarted by local authorities.[2][3] Since the Ayatollah took over in Iran, the Iranian government has been trying to undermine the Israeli security apparatus via assassination attempts, terrorist attacks, funding proxies such as Hamasand Hezbollah and trying to aquire nuclear weapons.[4][5]
Operation
The two suspects came to the island from Turkey and occupied northern Cyprus and staged their surveillance operation from there, due to the fact that the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effecitive control of the occupied areas an Turkey's growing distance stance from the state of Israel and support of Hamas.[6][7][8][9] Cypriot Intelligence began surveilling the suspects a few months prior to their arrest and with information from the CIA and Mossad.[10][11]
Arrest
The two suspects were arrested in Cyprus in November of 2023 after weeks of surveillance and in time to disrupt the attacks that would have taken place, primarily on Israeli businessmen.[12] One of the suspects, belonged to Unit 400 of the quds force which is an Iranian elite special operations unit.[13][14]