Israel will exact heavy price for Iranian terrorism, Mossad director warns

Barnea says Israel has thwarted 27 Iranian terror attacks this year

Israel had a hand in thwarting Russian-Iranian arms deals, Mossad Director David Barnea hinted before revealing that Israel prevented 27 Iranian terror plots worldwide against Israelis this year alone.

The Mossad director spoke at length about global challenges with terrorism in a rare public speech at Reichman University’s International Counter-Terrorism Conference on Sunday. The event was held this year in memory of former Mossad Director Shabtai Shavit who passed away last week.

Barnea explained that the arms deals Iran has arranged with Russia and the successful repression of the hijab protests were among the factors that boosted the Iranian regime’s sense of security.

“The more Iran’s self-confidence increases, the greater become its efforts to orchestrate terror all over the world, based on its belief that the price it will have to pay will be manageable,” he said.

The Iranian regime has exported hundreds of its domestically-produced Shahed-136 drones to Russia, which has used them in the war against Ukraine.

“We know that the Iranians were planning to sell Russia short-range and long-range missiles too, but this deal has been interrupted. I have a feeling that more deals will be interrupted soon,” said Barnea, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“Our fear is that the Russians will transfer to the Iranians in return what they lack, [which are] advanced weapons that will certainly endanger our peace, and maybe even our existence here,” he added.

Israel is ready to “exact a price from the highest officials in the heart of Tehran if necessary to defend Israel from Iran’s attacks and threats."

Barnea further cautioned: “We watch with concern as global terror raises its evil head. We are witnessing a significant increase in attempts to attack Jews and Israelis worldwide and as we speak, we continue to track Iranian and proxy teams.”

Regarding the ayatollah regime's nuclear program, the Mossad chief affirmed: “We can never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and it will not be allowed to do so. The international community must stand firm against Iran. The international community must not accede to a situation in which what separates Iran from military-grade enrichment is a decision alone.‎”

Barnea stressed the importance of forming a united front against Iran in all spheres and called for an economic, diplomatic and legal price to be exacted from the regime for its acts of terrorism in the region.

During his speech, Barnea presented a video revealing Tehran's acts of terrorism around the world, including confessions of terrorists who were sent to attack Israelis and Jews by official intelligence and security organizations.

In March, the Mossad prevented an attack against Israeli targets in Athens, Greece. In June, the intelligence agency cooperated with authorities in Cyprus to foil an attack against Israelis there.

In August, security forces said they prevented an Iranian attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel through Jordan.

Barnea also condemned the United States for pursuing its nuclear deal with Iran, which he said would return billions of dollars to the regime, and would be used to carry out additional terror attacks.