The Ethiopian intelligence agency recently arrested 15 people on suspicion of being part of a terrorist cell that was supposed to harm the UAE embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. This was reported today (Monday) by the New York Times. The Ethiopians came to the same cell following the arrest of Ahmad Ismail in Sweden in cooperation with “African, Asian and European intelligence services,” they said.
The coffin of the Iranian scientist who was killed by Farhizada is brought to Tehran (Photo: Reuters)
According to the Times, Israeli and American sources said that the person behind the plot was Iran, whose intelligence service operated a dormant cell in Addis Ababa last fall with orders to gather intelligence, including on US and Israeli embassies.
According to the same sources, the planned operation was part of a wider campaign to find “soft” targets in African countries, where Iran can avenge the actions taken against them, such as the assassination of former nuclear scientist Muhsan Fahrizadeh or Qassem Suleimani, a former Quds Force commander.
Tehran has denied the allegations: “These are baseless allegations that only the malicious media of the Zionist regime is pumping,” said a spokeswoman for the Iranian embassy in Addis Ababa. “Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates have not said anything about Iranian intervention in these matters.”
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The United Arab Emirates angered Iran when it normalized relations with Israel in September as part of the “Abraham Accords.” An Ethiopian police spokesman declined to comment on why Ethiopia is not blaming Iran for planning the operation. Diplomats have told the Times that due to Ethiopia’s status as Africa’s diplomatic capital and home of the EU’s headquarters, it is trying to avoid getting involved in public on such delicate issues.