An Israeli man was arrested on charges of plotting the assassination of Israeli figures on orders from Iran, the Israel police and State Attorney’s Office said on Wednesday (Oct 16).
35-year-old Vladimir Verhovsky, from central Israel, was charged with contact with a foreign agent, carrying and transporting a weapon, and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.
Verhovsky contacted an entity in August, who was operating on behalf of Iranian intelligence services, and portrayed himself as an Israeli citizen living in Canada, according to the indictment. The man called himself “Eli”.
Verhovsky carried out a series of tasks ordered by “Eli”, despite knowing he was hostile to the State of Israel, in exchange for transfers of between USD 30 and USD 200 to a cryptocurrency wallet.
Eli assigned these tasks in English over the Telegram app.
The tasks included spray-painting graffiti reading “LEHI” in English and Hebrew, and “HITLER=NETANYAHU,” in different locations.
Moreover, he also buried tracking devices behind a bus station and shot demonstrations in Tel Aviv.
Verhovsky also purchased a dedicated cell phone to communicate with “Eli”, and paid for using money he received from “Eli” for that purpose, the indictment said.
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In September, Verhovsky agreed to gather intelligence about a resident of Tel Aviv’s Borla Street and took photographs of the interior of the resident’s building.
He also showed a photograph of the resident to neighbors asked whether they knew him, and knocked on the resident’s door.
Later, Verhovsky agreed to kill an Israeli scientist, in exchange for USD 100,000, according to the indictment.
Disclaimer: WION takes the utmost care to accurately and responsibly report conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and non-state actors like the Islamic State, among others. In this context, claims and counterclaims are being made online and offline. WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos, and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)
