Israel warns of Iranian-backed terror plot targeting Israeli athletes at Olympics

Roberto Wakerell-Cruz
  |   July 26, 2024   |   Be the first to comment

Israel’s foreign minister told his French counterpart that there is a high risk that there will be an Iranian-backed terror plot targeting Israeli athletes and tourists.

"We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organisations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics," Israel Katz told Stephane Sejourne, reports Reuters.

No specific intelligence was provided in the letter.

In response, the Iranian mission to the United Nations said that terrorist acts have “no place” in the principles of resistance groups. “Lies and deceit cannot switch the roles of the plaintiff and the accused,” they said.

In 2018, France thwarted a bomb plot on the outskirts of Paris, orchestrated by an Iranian diplomat who was later convicted in Belgium.

On Friday, France will implement one of its largest peacetime security operations as it hosts the opening ceremony of the Games in central Paris.

Over 6,000 athletes will participate in the parade along the Seine river, as well as 45,000 police officers and 10,000 soldiers securing the event.

Israel's delegation will be on a riverboat with Italian and Jamaican athletes, two sources familiar with the planning said.

Katz also thanked the French government for the huge security effort.

Many Israelis vividly recall the horror of the deaths of 11 members of their Olympic team during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, when the Palestinian militant group Black September carried out an attack and hostage-taking.

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