Israel does not comment on its espionage activities abroad, but it is suspected of carrying out a series of assassinations in Iran over the past three years. This includes an alleged machine gun attack on the head of the Iranian nuclear programme, which Israel regards as an existential threat. Iran resumed work on the programme after then president Donald Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear deal in 2018. It comes just days after Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister, told The Telegraph that Iran was “dangerously” close to acquiring a nuclear bomb. “Iran is enriching uranium at an unprecedented rate and moving dangerously close to getting their hands on nuclear weapons,” Mr Bennett said. He added: “Without pressure from the West, the Islamic regime in Iran could get their hands on a nuclear bomb very soon. The world must take a firm stance and tell the Islamic regime in Iran: no nukes, no sanctions. Iran’s nuclear program won’t stop until it’s stopped.” Tensions between Iran and Israel have soared over the programme and there are concerns that the row could escalate from a so-called shadow war into a full-blown conflict in the Middle East. This week, Israel urged its citizens to leave Istanbul immediately, warning that Iran was plotting a series of attacks on Israeli citizens living in the Turkish city.
