Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued an unusually explicit warning on May 30 against non-essential travel to Turkey, citing Iranian plans to attack Israelis there. The warning came amid diplomatic efforts to restore Israel-Turkey relations that peaked with last week’s visit to Israel by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the first such visit in 15 years.

In a highly unusual move, Israeli security officials contacted some 100 Israelis currently in Turkey and advised them to return home as quickly as possible.

Even as hundreds of thousands of Israelis looked forward to vacations at southern Turkish resorts, Israel’s National Security Council announced that specific Iranian threats had been identified against Israelis visiting and working in Turkey to avenge a series of operations attributed to Israel, including last week’s assassination of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer Sayad Khodai in Tehran. Khodai had been believed to be planning terror attacks against Israeli, Jewish and Western targets abroad.

“The Iranians are seeking revenge,” a former Israeli senior security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “They realize that the rules of the game have changed and they want to level the playing field.”