The Foreign Ministry on Thursday, issued an unusual warning for Israeli citizens visiting the countries bordering Iran (Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey) to be alert, exercise caution, and heed the warnings of Israel's National Bureau for Counter-Terrorism.
The Foreign Ministry said that the recommendation follows the growing threats from the Iranian efforts and its proxies to harm state symbols and Israeli citizens."
"Since the beginning of the war, Iran has been exerting effort to hit Israeli targets around the world," the ministry said. "However, concerns grew after the Islamic Republic threatened to attack Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, for which Israel has not claimed responsibility."
Israel is preparing for several scenarios and so there is the possibility that Iran and Hezbollah will try to carry out attacks against Israelis abroad or harm Israeli diplomats and Israeli embassies. Therefore, since the escalation in rhetoric, the Foreign Ministry has declared the highest security alert, as it did after October 7. Diplomats have been instructed to adhere to strict security guidelines, and some were assigned routine break instructions such as not to attend public events, work from home, etc.
"Our situation is very dangerous as far as the envoys are concerned," said a senior Israeli diplomat last week, who said that many representatives feel threatened. "We saw that a person was killed in an Iranian governmental compound, so there is a chance they will want to damage Israeli symbols like embassies. They may want to cause Israel the same embarrassment they attribute to us. Seeing as the Iron Dome protects Israel, they might attack the second-best thing, Israel's envoys worldwide."
The British Guardian reported last week that Iran is still considering the scope and nature of its promised response, and the Islamic Republic may try to target the Mossad, which is blamed for Haniyeh's assassination. In January, the Revolutionary Guards launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at the Iraqi Kurdistan region, claiming that the target was the Mossad headquarters. That Iranian barrage came after the regime threatened to avenge the assassination of Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Syria that was attributed to Israel.