Is the Ron Arad announcement tied to Iran's hitman in Cyprus? - analysis

• Published date: 05 October 2021
• Author: LAHAV HARKOV
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Why did Bennett announce this now? Mossad operations are almost never officially made public; their preferred way of shedding light is to leak to foreign press outlets. And when the government does reveal what the Mossad does, it's usually long after the fact, not a few weeks later.

Why did Bennett share so little information? Presumably, there are constantly Mossad operations going on that we know nothing about. What was the point of telling the public about this operation if he couldn't tell us anything about it, other than it was "a complex, wide-ranging and daring operation?"

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The hot take was that he was making political use of the Mossad. After all, he made his announcement in a contentious and raucous Knesset meeting, marking the opening of the legislature's winter session, with a large media presence. Perhaps Bennett was trying to wrest the media narrative away from opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who, as expected, used his speech to sharply criticize the government.

That is still a compelling explanation. But another answer may be found in another announcement made by the Prime Minister's Office about four hours earlier.

The attempt on Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi's life in Cyprus was an Iranian terrorist attack and not a crime committed by business rivals, as some had reported, Bennett's spokesman Matan Sidi emphatically said in the name of security sources.

In fact, the attack was not specifically targeting Sagi, Sidi said; rather, the Iranian-hired hit man arrested in Cyprus was trying to attack Israeli businessmen, generally.

When Sidi sent out his message, it seemed unusual, but it was easily chalked up to the shadow war between Israel and Iran, as well as the importance in highlighting to the world that Iran is a bad actor seeking to annihilate Israel.

Various outlets reported that the attempted murder of Sagi and others was an Iranian revenge mission; some tied it to the Mossad killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the leader of Iran's nuclear program, late last year.

But new details emerging about the Arad-related operation could mean...