Israel: Brazil Foils Iran-Directed Plot against Jewish Targets

Israel says the Mossad and other Israeli and international security and law enforcement agencies have worked with Brazilian authorities to foil a “terrorist attack” in the South American country that was directed and financed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The Mossad thanks the Brazilian security services for the arrest of a terrorist cell that was operated by [Lebanon’s militant group] Hezbollah in order to carry out an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on November 8 on the social media platform X.

The Brazilian security services, together with the Mossad and its partners in the Israeli security community, alongside additional international security agencies, foiled a terrorist attack in Brazil, planned by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, directed and financed by Iran.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 8, 2023

It said that the “extensive network” was also operating “in additional countries.”

“Given the backdrop of the war in Gaza against the Hamas terrorist organization, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime are continuing to operate around the world in order to attack Israeli, Jewish and Western targets,” Netanyahu’s office said, promising that the Mossad will likewise operate internationally to stop the attacks “wherever necessary, by various methods.”

Given the backdrop of the war in Gaza against the Hamas terrorist organization, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime are continuing to operate around the world in order to attack Israeli, Jewish and Western targets.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 8, 2023

The previous day, Brazilian Federal Police, working in cooperation with Israeli intelligence agencies, said they had disrupted a suspected domestic terror plot against Israeli and Jewish targets believed to be in its initial stages.

Federal investigators said they had uncovered a scheme allegedly involving the recruitment of Brazilian citizens by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, to orchestrate attacks against members of the 120,000-strong Brazilian Jewish community.

They said that the counterterrorism operation led to the apprehension of two individuals in the state of Sao Paulo, which is home to the biggest local Jewish community. One suspect was apprehended upon landing from Lebanon.

Arrest warrants were issued for two additional suspects believed to be in Lebanon. 

On November 9, Brazilian Justice Minister Flávio Dino said in the social media platform X that the investigations in the case “began BEFORE the outbreak of the ongoing tragedies on the international scene,” and have “nothing to do with international conflicts.”

1.O Brasil é um país soberano. A cooperação jurídica e policial existe de modo amplo, com países de diferentes matizes ideológicos, tendo por base os acordos internacionais.
2.Nenhuma força estrangeira manda na Polícia Federal do Brasil. E nenhum representante de governo…

— Flávio Dino 🇧🇷 (@FlavioDino) November 9, 2023

Hezbollah has been engaged in escalating skirmishes with Israeli military forces on Israel’s northern borders amid the war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hezbollah and Tehran have been accused of being behind a number of terror plots against Israeli and Jewish targets in foreign countries, including Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Greece this year.

The Lebanese group has established a presence in Brazil over the years, notably in the southern region, home to a substantial Muslim Arab community.

In neighboring Argentina, Hezbollah is believed to have carried out the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history, killing 85 people and injuring more than 300 at a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994.