Israel Urges Citizens To Avoid Georgia, Azerbaijan, Citing Iran Threat
December 03, 2020 20:41 GMT
        • By RFE/RL

A memorial service for Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was 
killed on November 27.

Israel's government is warning that Israeli targets abroad could come under 
attack by Iran, citing threats issued by Tehran following the killing of a 
prominent Iranian nuclear scientist last week.

"In light of threats recently coming from Iranian officials and in light of the 
involvement in the past of Iranian agents in terror attacks in various 
countries, there is a concern that Iran will try to act in such a way against 
Israeli targets,” according to a December 3 statement issued by the prime 
minister’s National Security Council.

It advised against travel to nearby countries such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, 
Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Bahrain, as well as the Kurdish 
area of Iraq and Africa.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was at the heart of the country's past covert nuclear 
program, was killed on the outskirts of Tehran on November 27.

No one has claimed responsibility, but Iranian officials have blamed the killing 
on Israel, an exile opposition group, and Saudi Arabia.

A top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Iran will 
give a “calculated and decisive” response.

Israeli officials have declined to comment on the killing, while the Iranian 
opposition group and Saudi Arabia have denied any involvement.

Elliott Abrams, the top U.S. envoy on Iran, said on December 3 that Iran is 
unlikely to retaliate over the assassination before the inauguration of Joe 
Biden as U.S. president on January 20, 2021, in case it jeopardizes any future 
sanctions relief from the United States.

"If they want sanctions relief, they know that they're going to need to enter 
some kind of negotiation after January 20, and it's got to be in their minds 
that they don't want to...undertake any activities between now and January 20 
that make sanctions relief harder to get," Abrams told Reuters.

Iran and its proxies have targeted Israeli tourists and Jewish communities in 
the past.

Israel in recent months has signed U.S.-brokered agreements establishing 
diplomatic relations with the U.A.E. and Bahrain.

With reporting by AP and Reuters