Olympics-Israel warns France of Iran-backed plot

By John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) - Israel's foreign minister warned his French counterpart on Thursday of a potential Iranian-backed plot to target Israeli athletes and tourists during the Paris Olympic Games.

Israel's military campaign in the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip, launched in retaliation against Hamas militants' deadly cross-border raid last October, has inflamed tensions in the Middle East and stoked security concerns for the Summer Olympics.

"We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organisations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics," Israel Katz told Stephane Sejourne in a letter seen by Reuters.

Katz did not detail any specific intelligence or threat against the Games.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations told Reuters in response to the accusation: "Terrorist acts have no place in the principles of resistance groups; lies and deceit cannot switch the roles of the plaintiff and the accused."

France's foreign ministry declined to comment.

In 2018, France foiled a bomb plot on the outskirts of Paris masterminded by an Iranian diplomat later convicted in Belgium.

France will roll out one of its biggest peacetime security operations on Friday when it hosts the Games' opening ceremony in the heart of Paris.

More than 6,000 athletes will participate in a parade along the river Seine, with 45,000 police and 10,000 soldiers securing the event.

Israel's delegation is expected to be on a riverboat with Italian and Jamaican athletes, two sources familiar with the planning said.

Katz thanked the French government for what he called unprecedented security measures to deliver a safe Games.

Israel's opening Olympic soccer match against Mali on Wednesday passed the Games' first major security test. The Israeli national anthem was initially booed before those cries were drowned out. A few supporters waved Palestinian flags.

Israeli competitors will be escorted to and from events by elite tactical units and given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics, officials say. Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, is helping with security.

Many Israelis still remember with horror the deaths of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team in an attack and hostage-taking by the Palestinian militant group Black September at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

(Reporting by John Irish; writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Kevin Liffey)