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UK security minister confirms Iran ‘mapped’ Jewish targets

“We believe this information was a preparation for future lethal operations,” said Tom Tugendhat.

Official portrait of Tom Tugendhat. Photo by Chris McAndrew.
Official portrait of Tom Tugendhat. Photo by Chris McAndrew.

In a speech on Monday in Parliament, U.K. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat confirmed last week’s Jewish Chronicle report that the Iranian government was “mapping” Jewish leaders.

“Between 2020 and 2022, Iran tried to collect intelligence on Israeli and U.K.-based Jewish individuals,” said Tugendhat before the House of Commons. “We believe this information was a preparation for future lethal operations.”

The minister addressed the Iranian plot during a speech about Iranian threats facing British journalists. Just last week, authorities arrested a man who was later charged with a terrorism offense near an Iranian international media outlet’s offices, noted Tugendhat.

He added that since 2022, authorities have foiled 15 credible Iranian threats to kill or kidnap people in the United Kingdom.

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Benny Gantz, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan S. Tobin, Gilad Erdan, Mosab Hassan Yousef, Nissim Black and leading voices in security, diplomacy, media, law and Jewish communal affairs headline the summit’s third day in Jerusalem.