Iran has intensified its efforts to assassinate senior Israeli figures, including current and former officeholders, in an attempt to achieve a strategic and psychological victory over Israel, Channel 12 News reported.

Several senior officials, including cabinet ministers, have been briefed in recent days on the heightened threat. Israeli security officials believe Iran’s interest in targeting senior figures is not new, but say both the scale of the effort and the number of attempted operations have increased in recent weeks

The Shin Bet has responded by strengthening security around a number of senior Israeli officials.

Security concerns also led authorities to keep the departure time of the Wing of Zion government aircraft secret ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States. The flight departed from Nevatim Airbase following recommendations from security officials.

The heightened alert comes after the Mossad announced last week that it had thwarted an Iranian Ministry of Intelligence operation aimed at infiltrating a terrorist cell into Israel to assassinate senior officials. The plot was disrupted through cooperation between the Mossad, the Shin Bet and intelligence and security agencies from several foreign countries.

Israeli security agencies have warned that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have intensified efforts to target Israeli and Jewish interests, including attempted attacks inside Israel.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)