2022 Istanbul Terror Plot

The reported plot emerged against a backdrop of escalating Iranian efforts to strike Israeli targets abroad. Israeli reporting placed the heightened concern in the context of the May 22, 2022, killing of IRGC Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in Tehran, which Iran attributed to Israel and for which it had threatened retaliation.[1] The U.S. State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2022 stated that Iran pursued or supported attacks against Israeli targets that year, noting that the plots against Israeli targets in Türkiye and Georgia were being implemented by current and former members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force (IRGC-QF).[2]

Israeli citizens had been warned as early as May 2022 of an Iranian attack targeting Israelis in Turkey.[3] Israel's National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a warning on May 30 and raised Istanbul's warning further in June.[4] Israeli intelligence officials identified Hossein Taeb, then head of the IRGC's intelligence organization, as a figure trying to advance attacks against Israelis in Turkey; Iranian state television announced shortly after the Turkish disclosure of the plot that Taeb would leave his post, which he had held since 2009.[1]

A later INSS account described a group of eight individuals—some Iranian nationals and some Turkish citizens—who divided into four teams to conduct surveillance on Israeli targets across Istanbul.[5] The operatives posed as students, businessmen, and tourists, while assassination teams were reportedly positioned in rooms on the second and fourth floors of a hotel in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district.[5]

Reports identified possible targets as Israeli tourists, a former Israeli consul general and his partner, or a former ambassador and spouse.[6][1] Public accounts named the diplomat in variant forms, including "Yosef Safri" and "Yossi Levi-Sfari," and differed on whether he was a former consul general or ambassador.[5][6] One account said assassins were waiting for a woman and her spouse to return to their hotel room; the couple did not return for their belongings and were escorted to the airport by security officers.[7]

Turkish media reported that Iranian agents had been instructed to target three Israeli tourists staying at a hotel near Taksim Square for a payment of $35,000.[8] A later INSS study said Turkish investigators suspected that an intermediary described as an "Iranian mafia" figure conveyed orders to the operatives. It also reported that one cell member had traveled to Iran four times in two months; the study interpreted the reported term as referring to a criminal organization involved in terrorism for financial gain rather than a confirmed formal group name.[5] A reported exchange illustrated the operational mindset: an alleged assassin asked whether shooting inside the hotel would be too loud, and the alleged intermediary reportedly answered, "Very little noise, like a balloon popping."[5] Planned methods reportedly included shootings, attempted kidnappings, and possibly the use of sniper rifles.[9]

On June 13, Israel's National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau raised Istanbul's travel warning to Level 4—its highest level—citing increased Iranian intentions to attack Israelis in Turkey.[4] The bureau urged Israelis already in Istanbul to leave immediately and advised against travel to Turkey, noting that connecting flights through Istanbul remained acceptable if travelers did not leave the airport.[4] Foreign Minister Yair Lapid described the danger as "real and immediate" and urged Israelis in Istanbul to return home and those planning trips to cancel them.[10]

Turkish media cited by JNS said a June 17 joint operation by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and local police targeted the Soul Hotel and three rented houses in the Beyoğlu district.[11] A later INSS account instead dated a raid to June 16, called the property the Sol Hotel, and said officers recovered three handguns, three silencers, and two firearm laser sights.[5] Reports also differed on arrest totals. Turkish media cited by the Washington Institute reported eight suspects detained.[6] FDD reported that ten Iranian intelligence assets and IRGC operatives were arrested.[12] A later Sabah account said four members of a specific cell were arrested on June 17.[8] The differing figures may reflect the multiple cells, locations, or operations described in contemporary reporting.[1]

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel had intelligence that several Iranian squads were trying to "hunt Israelis" through social media or by identifying them at major tourist sites.[13] Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned that anyone targeting Israelis abroad would "pay a price."[13] The Mossad identified Israelis who were potential targets and flew them back to Israel on private aircraft, in some cases just before alleged attackers could reach them.[5][11]

The foiling of the plot was widely described as a product of close collaboration between the Mossad and Turkey's MIT.[7] Israeli intelligence shared information with Ankara, and Turkish and Israeli services then worked together to locate and dismantle the cells.[14] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the countries' security institutions were in close contact and that Turkey would not allow terrorist activity on its territory.[9]

Mossad Director David Barnea said at an international counterterrorism conference in September that the IRGC intelligence agency had sent three hit squads to Istanbul simultaneously, with orders to kill any Israelis they could. He said Turkish assistance and cooperation among Mossad, the IDF, the Shin Bet, and Israel's National Security Council had foiled the incidents before any attack was carried out.[15] A separate INSS account characterized the operation as a combined squad of Iranians and Turks operated by the Quds Force and said Turkish and Israeli intelligence jointly foiled the plan.[16]

During his June visit to Ankara, Foreign Minister Lapid credited Israeli-Turkish security and diplomatic cooperation with saving Israeli lives, describing the alleged attacks as both attempted murders of Israeli tourists and a violation of Turkish sovereignty.[10] Lapid stated that "the lives of Israeli citizens have been saved thanks to the security and diplomatic cooperation."[6] Çavuşoğlu reiterated that Turkey had remained in close contact with Israel about threats to Israelis and would not permit terrorism in Turkey.[10]

On June 28, following the arrests and counterterrorism operations, Israel's National Security Council lowered Istanbul's travel warning from Level 4 to Level 3.[17] The Council said joint Israeli-Turkish efforts had thwarted attacks on Israelis in Istanbul and that Turkish forces had located and arrested several Iranian-linked terror gangs.[17] It nonetheless warned that Iran remained motivated to attack and that efforts to build operational infrastructure and identify Israeli and Jewish targets were continuing.[18]

Reporting through July 2022 described additional alleged plots beyond the June incidents. Turkish media said three men were detained on July 14 and brought before a court the following Thursday for an extension of their remand; they were reported to have possessed a rifle, two pistols, silencers, and ammunition, and to have allegedly targeted Israeli tourists at a hotel near Taksim Square.[19] These reports were based on Turkish media accounts rather than publicly established judicial findings.

A N12 report from June 16 described the threat as encompassing several attacks planned over months, including shootings and attempted kidnappings, and said Iranian operatives had recruited local collaborators.[20] It relayed Israeli guidance to Israelis in Turkey: keep a low profile, avoid locations associated with concentrations of Israelis, be cautious about unsolicited transport or tourism offers, and avoid posting travel plans or locations online.[20]

The Istanbul plots formed part of a broader series of Iranian threats against Israeli targets abroad. Turkish and Israeli intelligence cooperated during this period to foil multiple Iranian plots to kidnap or kill Israelis in Turkey, and security officials helped some targeted Israelis leave the country.[7] Michael Doran's Mosaic account described the intelligence cooperation as exemplary "according to the Israelis" and said the cell was dismantled without anyone being killed or wounded.[14]

The episode also carried diplomatic significance during a period of Turkish-Israeli rapprochement. Lapid's visit to Ankara, during which he publicly praised Turkish security assistance, underscored how the foiled plot strengthened bilateral security coordination.[10] A Washington Institute analysis argued that Iran's attempt to use Turkish territory to harm Israelis had backfired by driving Ankara and Jerusalem closer together.[6]

Michael Doran wrote in Mosaic that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed the official responsible for the botched Istanbul operation before Lapid returned home from Ankara, though the account did not name the official or provide further details of the dismissal.[14]

The reported accounts of the Istanbul plots contain several significant inconsistencies. Arrest totals range from four in one account to ten in another.[8][12] The differences may reflect multiple separate raids or cells rather than a single operation.[1] Sources also describe the intended targets differently—Israeli tourists broadly, three Israeli women at a hotel, and specifically a former Israeli diplomat and his partner—without fully reconciling whether these refer to the same targets or separate groups.[5][6]

The diplomat's identity was not definitively established in public reporting. A ynet article noted that Israel's Foreign Ministry had not confirmed which Israeli had been targeted, and officials did not rule out that the person was a former ambassador who had traveled to Turkey privately.[21] The name appeared in sources as both "Yosef Safri" and "Yossi Levi-Sfari," and accounts variously described him as a former consul general or former ambassador.[5][6]

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh rejected the Israeli allegations as "baseless" and characterized them as "part of a pre-designed plot to destroy relations between the two Muslim countries."[6] The U.S. State Department attributed a thwarted May plot in Türkiye to current and former IRGC-QF members, but its report did not identify Istanbul, the intended targets, planned methods, arrests, or a detailed chain of command.[2]