Israel accuses Iran of Cyprus attack plot after suspect arrested

Iranian embassy in Nicosia says Israel is ‘always making such a baseless allegation’ against Iran.

Israel has accused Iran of orchestrating an attempted attack against Israelis in Cyprus after police on the Mediterranean island said an armed individual had been arrested. Iran swiftly denied the accusation.

“This was a terrorist incident directed by Iran against Israeli businesspeople living in Cyprus,” Matan Sidi, spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, said in a statement on Monday.

Asked to comment, the embassy of Iran in the Cypriot capital Nicosia said in an emailed statement to the Reuters news agency said, “This regime (Israel) is always making such a baseless allegation against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”