Turkish Trio Charged in Iranian Plot to Arm Terror Cells Inside Israel
In an unfolding espionage drama that reads more like a spy thriller than a courtroom indictment, Israeli prosecutors have charged three Turkish nationals with attempting to smuggle weapons from Iran into Israel, part of what officials describe as Tehran’s escalating war-by-proxy to ignite violence within the Jewish state.
The Nazareth District Court on Sunday received indictments against Rahman Gokayer, Younes Ozel, and Oktay Asci, accused of illegal entry, arms trafficking, and collaboration with foreign terror operatives. Prosecutors revealed the operation as one node in a vast Iranian network spanning Tehran, Amman, and Turkish underworld brokers, all working to smuggle guns into Israel under the radar of its security services.
Three Turkish citizens have been indicted in Israel for weapons related offenses, one of them is also charged with attempting to provide means for carrying out a terrorist act.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 26, 2025
The indictment alleges the group was trying to establish a network for smuggling weapons from Turkey…
From Istanbul to the Jordan Valley: The Smuggling Route of Tehran’s Agents
According to the indictment, Gokayer and Asci embarked on their mission in September 2025, departing Turkey under false pretenses. They traveled through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where Iranian intermediaries supplied them with three handguns destined for Israel. The goal: infiltrate Israel through the Jordan Valley and hand over the weapons to local collaborators, arming cells primed to carry out attacks.
But the plan collapsed amid internal disputes. The pair nevertheless crossed illegally near Kibbutz Sha’ar HaGolan, testing Israel’s border vigilance and triggering an intensive Shin Bet investigation.
What truly shocked Israeli intelligence officials was Asci’s background. He had previously lived illegally in Israel for over two years, during which he allegedly acquired and buried a gun in Bat Yam, only to retrieve and transfer it later to an unidentified accomplice. After being deported in July 2025, Asci reportedly stayed in touch with Iranian arms brokers and Turkish smugglers, working to build a new weapons route stretching from Iran to Jordan, and finally into Israel via Palestinian laborers.
A Million-Dollar Job for Tehran’s Dirty Work
Prosecutors described the operation as a mercenary pipeline, where greed met ideology. Gokayer, the alleged coordinator, was promised a staggering one million dollars for overseeing the weapons’ transfer into Israel, funds believed to be laundered through front companies linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Meanwhile, Ozel, already in Israel, was tasked with finalizing a weapons deal in Tel Aviv. Twice he failed, and in true underworld fashion, pocketed ₪5,000 from the operation’s cash flow, sparking distrust within the network. His misstep, combined with Gokayer and Asci’s failed infiltration, brought the entire scheme crashing down. All three suspects remain behind bars.
Iran’s Network of Terror: The Hidden Hand of the IRGC
This case unfolds as Israel’s Shin Bet security agency continues dismantling Iran’s broader campaign to flood Judea and Samaria with weapons and chaos. Earlier this month, agents foiled a massive Iranian attempt to smuggle explosives, drones, rifles, and anti-tank weapons into Judea and Samaria, an arsenal intended to empower terror factions targeting both Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The operation was traced directly to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, specifically its shadowy Unit 400, commanded by Javad Ghafari, and Unit 18840 in Syria, which answers to Asghar Bakri, head of the infamous Unit 840 — the IRGC’s elite assassination and smuggling division.
Two of the Iranian operatives behind the Judea and Samaria smuggling ring — Salah al-Husseini and Muhammad Shuayb — were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon this past July.
The pattern is clear: Iran is investing heavily in destabilizing Israel from within, exploiting regional smuggling routes, Palestinian labor crossings, and foreign nationals to create terror pipelines under the guise of civilian trade.
🚨 Three Turkish citizens arrested for smuggling weapons from Iran and infiltrating Israel 🇮🇱🇹🇷
— One Jewish State (@onejewishstate) October 26, 2025
🔹️ The Israeli State Attorny's Office filed an indictment today against three Turkish citizens - Oktay Asci, Rahman Gokyir, and Yunus Ozel - for arms smuggling and illegal entry… pic.twitter.com/fyfXKbU6Wt
A Shadow War Exposed
Israel’s intelligence community views this as part of Tehran’s “internal front” doctrine — an effort to transform Israeli territory itself into a new battlefield by arming proxy cells and sleeper agents.
A senior defense source told The Judean that “Iran’s reach now extends from Damascus to Nablus, from Amman to Nazareth, and every failed attempt we expose is another glimpse of the machine behind it.”
Indeed, this isn’t the first time. In March 2024, Israeli forces intercepted an Iranian shipment packed with grenade launchers, explosives, and assault rifles bound for Judea and Samaria, a smuggling chain routed through Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. That network, too, traced back to the same IRGC command structure that orchestrated this latest attempt.
Three Turkish nationals were charged on Sunday with attempting to smuggle weapons into Israel with assistance from Iranian contactshttps://t.co/6HeZHg8ncT
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 26, 2025
Conclusion: Iran’s War Without Borders
The indictment of three Turkish nationals is more than a criminal case, it’s a revelation of how far Iran’s influence seeps into neighboring countries, turning smugglers, expatriates, and laborers into unwitting pawns in its war against Israel.
And while Israel’s intelligence agencies keep dismantling these plots one by one, the sheer scope of Tehran’s ambition underscores a chilling truth: the battlefield is no longer defined by borders, it begins wherever Iran’s money and ideology find willing hands.
