Israel accuses Iran of Cyprus attack plot after suspected gunman arrested
A silencer was also found in his vehicle, the reports said
Israel accused Iran on Monday of orchestrating an attempted attack on Israelis in Cyprus after police on the Mediterranean island said an armed individual had been arrested.
"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.
There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Embassy in Nicosia.
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Earlier on Monday, Cypriot police chief Stelios Papatheodorou told reporters: "A person has been arrested, in whose possession a pistol and cartridges were found."
"It is a sensitive case, which is why a remand request was held behind closed doors," Papatheodorou added.
In his statement, Sidi denied local media reports on Sunday that described the arrest as having thwarted a criminally motivated assassination attempt against Teddy Sagi, an Israeli magnate.
Cypriot media, citing a police source, have reported that the suspect, who has not been charged, was arrested on Sept. 27 in the capital Nicosia, just after crossing by car from a checkpoint linking the Turkish-controlled north and the southern parts of the ethnically divided island.
A silencer was also found in his vehicle, the reports said. People using the checkpoint at the time reported extensive searches of vehicles during the crossover transit.
Cypriot media also reported that the suspect was on the island for about 20 days prior to his arrest and rented two cars in succession. They said he used an electric scooter to travel frequently to the north side of the island via a pedestrian crossing.
