Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israeli intelligence agencies will soon advise Israelis to avoid travel to the UAE and Bahrain and take precautions while in Azerbaijan. She explained that the decision will come amid leaks that Israel is behind the recent assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Colonel Sayyad Khodai in Iran.

For its part, The New York Times indicated that Israel informed the Americans that it was behind the assassination as it planned to issue a warning that the Israelis would travel to countries neighboring Iran. The channel stated that these countries include the UAE, Bahrain and Azerbaijan, and that this is not about raising the travel warning level, but rather about improving the rules.

The channel quotes an Israeli source: “There are no clear intelligence directives, there are warnings about harming Israelis… In practice, we will not raise a travel warning. Azerbaijan will recommend taking more precautions, but Bahrain and the UAE will recommend avoiding unauthorized travel. This is necessary because of the terrorist infrastructure in these countries,” he said. On May 22, unidentified gunmen reportedly shot at Khadaei’s car near his home in an alley in eastern Tehran. Moreover, two people on a motorcycle participated in the attack.