Soldiers patrol on a street in front of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Olympics on July 21, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that the sabotage of France’s high-speed rail network ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics was directed by “Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam.”
The charge came one day after Katz warned his French counterpart of an Iranian-backed terrorist plot to attack Israelis at the Olympics.
France’s rail infrastructure was hit on Friday with widespread acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. French authorities described the acts as “criminal” and “malicious.”
Katz took to X/Twitter to claim that Iran was behind the apparently coordinated attacks and called on the world to stand up to the Islamist regime, which Western intelligence agencies have for years labeled as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the [2024 Paris] Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Katz wrote. “As I warned my French counterpart [Stéphane Séjourné] this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now — before it’s too late.”
Katz was referring to a letter he sent on Thursday to Séjourné raising alarm bells about what he described as a plan by Iran to attack Israel’s Olympic delegation.
“We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organizations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics,” Katz wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Algemeiner. “This concern underscores the important of our shared commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all participants.”
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and National Police both announced previously that they are taking increased security measures to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation while they are in Paris. These measures include providing them with round the clock security from French police. The Israeli delegation will also receive additional security details from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency during the Olympics, which begin Friday night with the opening ceremony.
In his letter, Katz expressed “deep gratitude” to the French government for the “unprecedented security measures” it is taking to protect the Israeli Olympic delegation and Israeli tourists visiting Paris for the Games. He also thanked Séjourné and French President Emmanuel Macron for their “unequivocal condemnation of the incitement against Israeli athletes recently voiced in Paris.”
Macron said during an interview with a French radio station on Tuesday that Israeli athletes are “welcome” in France for the Paris Olympics, and that “it is France’s responsibility to guarantee their security.” He also rejected calls to ban Israel from the Olympics. “I condemn in the strongest possible way all those who create risks for these athletes and implicitly threaten them,” he added.
Séjourné made similar remarks on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry this week condemned Israel’s participation in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and demanded that Israeli athletes be banned from them because of the Jewish state’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“Announcing the reception & protection of the Apartheid & terrorist Zionist regime’s convoy only means giving legitimacy to the child killers. They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of #Gaza,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X/Twitter. The ministry also shared a picture of the five Olympic rings, some of which bear images of wounded children. The middle ring is on fire and features an image of Israels national flag.
Katz concluded his letter by saying he his “deeply grateful” to the French Foreign Ministry for offering to host in Paris a memorial ceremony for the 11 Israelis murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September.
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