Illustration
Photo: AFP
'Mossad recruiting Iranian refugees in Iraq'
France's Le Figaro quotes Iraqi security official as saying Israel has increased recruitment efforts in country's Kurdish region
A top Iraqi security official claims that the Mossad has increased its recruitment efforts in country's Kurdish region, focusing mainly on Iranian refugees.
According to France's Le Figaro, the move is part of Israel's efforts to wage an intelligence war against Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Related stories:
- Mossad seeks Chinese speakers 'Israeli basketball players may be spies'
- 'WikiLeaks docs exposed Mossad agents' names'
The refugees, which according to the paper's sources are Iranian dissidents, are recruited by Israeli agents to target Iranian nuclear experts.
The report ventures that the heightened intelligence effort may be linked to increasing tensions between Iran and the United States over the former's threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
On Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz spoke before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and said that Iran is facing "a growing set of international pressure.
"The Iranian leadership is affected by this, but we can't see that the mounting pressure will bring then to relinquish their nuclear program… 2012 is likely to be critical for Iran. The growing international pressure and the internal changes in leadership – those things don't come naturally to them."
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
