Turkey conveyed an early warning to Iran about a Mossad assassination plan shortly before Operation Rising Lion was launched, a report published in the Arab newspaper Rai al-Youm on Sunday morning revealed.

According to a Turkish diplomatic source quoted in the article, Ankara warned Tehran of Israel’s intention to carry out a series of assassinations, including Revolutionary Guards officials, in the Iranian capital.

The report claims that Pakistan also provided detailed warnings, but according to the source, the Iranian authorities chose to ignore them as well.

There is no confirmation of the matter from Western sources or on behalf of Iran, but the very publication of the report in a major Arab newspaper indicates an interesting shift in the regional arena and the possibility that there is covert communication between Turkey and Pakistan regarding Israeli activity.

Operation Rising Lion began with a coordinated wave of assassinations of senior members of the Revolutionary Guards, including the commander of the Iranian Air Force, several generals, and 14 nuclear scientists.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)