Speaking to The Associated Press, the Cypriot security official said police had tracked an Iranian national identified as Yusef Shahabazi Abbasalilu following information from “friendly intelligence services.”
Subsequent probes into his activities indicated there was a plot for such killings, with at least one person on a hit list, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigations.
According to the official, Abbasalilu initially attempted to set up base and recruit others in the ethnically divided island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, where its internationally recognized authorities have no access.
Cypriot authorities were on Abbasalilu’s trail in the island’s southern part when he snuck into the north through a crossing point along the 180 km United Nations-controlled buffer zone, according to the official. Turkish Cypriot authorities then identified him as a potential security risk and deported him to Iran.
The Mossad two weeks ago revealed additional details about the planned Iranian terrorist attack which was foiled, including the fact that the leader of the terrorist squad was abducted from Iran itself, as well as a video in which the assassin gives a detailed confession and account of the planned attacks.