According to a report in the New York Times, Tehran is behind a plot that was thwarted last month, which tried to harm the Emirates' embassies in Ethiopia and Sudan.
Iran is behind the plot that was foiled last month to harm the UAE embassies in Ethiopia and Sudan, the American newspaper "The New York Times" revealed today (Monday).
The newspaper quoted Israeli and foreign security sources as saying that the plot thwarted by the intelligence services of Ethiopia and Sweden included at least three Iranian agents arrested by security forces in Ethiopia and Sudan.
The newspaper also claimed that Iran had sought to harm the United Arab Emirates after marking it "at the top of its list of enemies" due to its rapprochement with Israel and its activities against Tehran's nuclear program.
According to the report, Ethiopia was chosen as a destination due to its preoccupation with internal crises, such as the fighting in the Tigray region, and due to the ease with which agents were deployed.
It can be estimated that the attempt to harm the Emirates' representation on Sudanese soil was intended to serve, at least in part, as a message to the Sudanese government which is in the advanced stages of normalization with Israel.
"Africa is a relatively comfortable arena to operate in, and Ethiopia's preoccupation with other crises has been a convenient field of action," Bruce Rydell, a senior CIA and associate at the Brooking Institute, told the paper.