The Mossad, through the Prime Minister’s Office, revealed today (Thursday) for the first time details of an Iranian Ministry of Intelligence attempt to infiltrate a terror cell into Israel to attack senior Israeli officials. The case was uncovered through intelligence and security cooperation between Israel and intelligence services in several countries, leading to the exposure of the network, the foiling of the attack, and the dismantling of the Iranian operational chain.
According to the announcement, in recent years the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have led a global terror campaign targeting Israeli and Jewish interests. Iran has recently intensified its efforts to carry out attacks inside Israel, including by recruiting foreign nationals and creating indirect operational mechanisms designed to obscure the Tehran regime’s direct involvement.
The Mossad and Shin Bet said a combination of advanced intelligence capabilities, technological means, and cooperation with intelligence agencies worldwide has led to the thwarting of dozens of Iranian terror plots in recent years. At the same time, many Iranian attempts to recruit Israeli citizens to carry out missions on behalf of the regime have been exposed over the past two years. In this case, however, Tehran attempted to infiltrate a cell of foreign nationals into Israel to carry out the attack.
According to the investigation, the Iranians employed a model known as “Proxy by Proxy”—using criminal intermediaries, who in turn recruited additional operatives capable of entering Israel, gathering intelligence on targets, and ultimately carrying out the attack. The method is designed to distance Iran from the operation and reduce the risk of exposing the regime’s direct involvement.
At the center of the case is Throut Ozkur, known as “Philip,” who was living in France. According to the information released, he was recruited by two criminal proxy operatives—Baba Mahou-Zadeh Haji Jafan (“Babak”) and Mahamat Nadim Yayit (“Nadim”)—who are currently residing in Iran under the protection of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. The two are known to have ties to drug kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti, who, according to Israeli security officials, has for years served as a criminal asset used by Iran to advance terrorist operations.
As part of his role, “Philip” was tasked with recruiting a cell of foreign nationals to infiltrate Israel. To this end, he traveled to Iran several times, met with his handlers, and received payment for carrying out the missions assigned to him.
The international investigation also exposed the identities of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence officers who operated the network: Asadollah Behzad Okhsari, Vahid Masoumi, Mohammad-Hossein Dhughi, and Hamid Ghasemi. The Mossad noted that Behzad Okhsari was one of the central figures behind the ministry’s terror operations targeting Israeli and Jewish interests and was eliminated during Operation “Lion’s Roar.”
It was further reported that “Philip” paid a heavy price for his involvement in terrorist activity after being deported from France following the exposure of the case. In contrast, Babak and Nadim continue operating from Iran in an attempt to establish and direct additional terror cells. They remain under surveillance and are a focus of intelligence services worldwide.
Security officials said the case once again demonstrates Iran’s method of operating through layers of proxies and criminal organizations to conceal the regime’s fingerprints. However, according to the Mossad, the operatives’ mistakes, combined with close cooperation among international intelligence services, ultimately exposed the entire operational chain—from the field operatives all the way to intelligence officers in Tehran.