IDF Intel Chief: Iran Considered Carrying Out Terror Attack At World Cup

Newsweek

Iran Considered Carrying Out Terror Attack At World Cup: IDF Intel Chief

By Zoe Strozewski

Iran allegedly considered carrying out a terror attack at the men's soccer World Cup in Qatar in an attempt to disrupt the event, the military intelligence chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday.

Speaking at an Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, Major General Aharon Haliva said that the "only thing" stopping Iran from an act of terror was concern over how host country Qatar might respond, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The 2022 World Cup kicked off Sunday and is set to last through December 18. Iran's national team is one of 32 that secured a place in the World Cup, but turmoil at home has shifted additional attention to its participation in the event.

Iran began experiencing massive protests and civil unrest after the death in September of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested by the country's "morality police" for allegedly wearing an "improper" form of hijab in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Iranian authorities have denied accusations that the severe beatings she allegedly suffered while in custody caused her death.

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