Israeli authorities arrested a 22-year-old Haifa resident for his involvement in an Iranian-backed plot to assassinate a high-ranking Israeli official, with the intended target believed to be former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, reports say.

Ami Gaydarov, 22, was arrested last month on suspicion that he was working with an Iranian agent to gather intelligence and build a bomb for use in a terror plot against a high-ranking Israeli official. Gaydarov was unaware of the target’s identity. A gag order on his arrest was recently lifted, allowing Israeli media outlets to report on the case.

Authorities said Gaydarov first made contact with his Iranian handler in August 2025 and was paid roughly $23,000 — most of it in cryptocurrency — to carry out tasks in preparation for the assassination plot.

Gaydarov allegedly rented an apartment in the city’s downtown area to serve as a laboratory for the bombs.

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«To facilitate the contacts with his handlers, Gaidarov purchased dedicated phones and rented an apartment in Haifa where he produced the explosive substance, while documenting his activities in videos and photos that were sent to his handler as proof of compliance,» the Israeli police force said.

In connection with the plot, Israeli authorities have also arrested three other suspects, including Sergey Leibman and Edward Shovtiuk. The fourth suspect has not been named. Authorities said indictments for the four suspects should occur in the «coming days.»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the Prime Minister’s Office on October 22, 2025, in Jerusalem, Israel. (Nathan Howard/Pool/Getty Images)

The terror plot was uncovered as part of Israel’s «Operation Roaring Lion,» a major military campaign launched against Iran on February 28, coinciding with the start of the war with Iran.

The arrest of the four men comes as Israeli authorities have won more than 40 indictments against more than 60 defendants working on behalf of the Iranian government. Just two months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that the citizenship of Israelis convicted of espionage for Iran be stripped of their citizenship.

Illustration shows a missile launch from Iran with the country’s flag in the background. (iStock)

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Since the outbreak of the war with Iran, pro-Iranian attacks linked to radical groups have been on the rise. Just last week, French officials reported that a pro-Iran group was behind a failed bomb plot on a Bank of America office in Paris.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Thursday it had arrested more alleged illegal migrants who have been convicted of various crimes, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the agency reopening its program to support victims of migrant crime. The arrests and convictions described by ICE have not been independently verified.

ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was relaunched on April 10, 2025, aiming to offer resources to victims of crimes committed by illegal migrants and the victims’ families.

The program was first launched in 2017 under President Donald Trump’s first administration but was replaced in 2021 by the Victims Engagement and Services Line, a different program under the Biden administration before it was relaunched last year after Trump returned to office.

ICE said the anniversary of the program’s reopening comes just after multiple arrests were made on Wednesday of suspected illegal migrants convicted of crimes such as injury to a child, assault and robbery. ICE did not specify whether the individuals were newly arrested or transferred from local custody following prior convictions, nor did it provide dates for the underlying convictions.

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«The brave men and women of ICE law enforcement continue to target criminal illegal aliens in our communities to prevent another American from being raped, maimed, or murdered by an illegal alien who should have NEVER been in our country. The American victims are [why] we fight,» Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

«Yesterday, ICE arrested multiple violent assailants, including one depraved monster who injured a CHILD. With every arrest, ICE is making American communities safer. We will never stop fighting for justice for the victims of illegal alien crime,» Bis continued.

The agency offered a sample of some of the arrests. ICE did not say how many total individuals were arrested nationwide as part of this announcement.

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ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was relaunched on April 10, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Juan Lorenzo Hurtado-Flores, from Peru, was convicted of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and injury to a child in White Plains, New York, according to ICE.

Vu Nguyen, from Vietnam, was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in Pasadena, California, the agency said.

The agency said Omar Alexander Rodriguez-Grande, from El Salvador, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Harris County, Texas.

Oscar Fransisco, from Guatemala, was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the agency.

VOICE was first launched under President Donald Trump’s first administration but was replaced in 2021 by another victim services program under the Biden administration. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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ICE said Josue Coreas-Chavez, from El Salvador, was convicted of robbery in Riverhead, New York.

«Illegal aliens harming American citizens is unconscionable. But now, thanks to President Trump, we’re able to help people victimized by criminal aliens through the VOICE Office,» ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said when the relaunch of the program was announced last year. «I’m extremely proud of ICE’s entire workforce — the officers and agents on the ground who are enforcing immigration law fairly, the support staff who pull these operations together and handle logistics, and those who help shine a light on those who have suffered harm at illegal aliens’ hands.»

VOICE was replaced in 2021 during the Biden administration with the Victims Engagement and Services Line to «serve as a more comprehensive and inclusive victim support system offered by ICE that will ensure services are offered to all victims regardless of immigration status of the victim or perpetrator.»

«Providing assistance to society’s most vulnerable is a core American value. All people, regardless of their immigration status, should be able to access victim services without fear,» then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at the time.