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Iran attempted to target embassies in Africa in revenge attacks - report
[Jerusalem Post] A spokeswoman for the Iranian Embassy in Addis Ababa denied the report, calling it "baseless allegations...provoked by the Zionist regime’s malicious media."An attempt to target the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia earlier this month may have been part of a larger plot by Iran to target Israeli, American and Emirati embassies in Africa, according to The New York Times. The official Ethiopian statement on the arrest of 15 people who it said were casing the UAE embassy in Adis Ababa did not mention who was behind the plot or the motive, but, according to the report, a 16th arrest in Sweden brought in Ahmed Ismail, believed to be the ringleader of the plot.
The plot was reportedly meant to serve as revenge for the US assassination of former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and the alleged Israeli assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
According to the Times, Rear Adm. Heidi K. Berg, director of intelligence at the Pentagon’s Africa command, citing Western intelligence sources, stated that Iran was behind the plot and that Ethiopia and Sweden collaborated on thwarting the attacks.
Related: Addis Ababa: 2021-02-06 Report: Ethiopia arrests 16 in an Iranian cell planning attack on UAE embassy Addis Ababa: 2021-02-06 UAE massively cut aid to Palestinians after normalization with Israel Addis Ababa: 2021-02-05 Ethiopia says it foiled attack on UAE embassy in Addis Ababa Related: Ahmed Ismail: 2021-02-06 Report: Ethiopia arrests 16 in an Iranian cell planning attack on UAE embassy Ahmed Ismail: 2016-12-24 Two men convicted of trying to leave UK to join Islamic State in Iraq Ahmed Ismail: 2014-05-02 Army Arrests Five Suspects in Dahieh on Various Charges Posted by: Besoeker 2021-02-15 |
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