Two Italian intelligence agents, a former member of the Israeli Mossad, and a Russian woman were killed as a result of a boat accident on Saturday on Lake Maggiore, in northern Italy.
What is Reported
This is the version of the events as relayed by Italian media. The incident, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported, was attributed to unpredictable weather and the fact that the boat was designed to hold 15 passengers only.
According to media reports, 23 people were on the boat at the time of the incident, the exact nature of which is yet to be explained.
Who was Killed
Those killed were identified as Tiziana Barnobi, 53, and Claudio Alonzi, 62, both members of the Italian intelligence services; Shimoni Erez, an Israeli national “who had allegedly been a member of Mossad”, and Anna Bozhkova, 50, a Russian national who was married to the boat’s skipper.
The latter, Claudio Carminati, who is now accused of manslaughter is “a precious and trusted asset of Italian intelligence for all logistics, and therefore his presence was not abnormal,” according to Il Corriere.
The Explanations
Many questions remain unanswered.
Why would authorities allow for the public release of the names of individuals who are actively involved in the Italian intelligence services?
Also, what is the real reason behind such a gathering on the boat? Was it indeed a birthday party celebration as it was first announced?
Il Corriere reported that the group had several “meetings in (the northern Italian region of) Lombardy to exchange intelligence and documents.”
However, on Friday, the Israeli news portal, Walla, which is known for its closeness to Israeli intelligence, cited the Italian daily La Repubblica as saying that “the Mossad and the Italian intelligence personnel who were on the boat (…) acted to prevent Iran from obtaining strategic weapons”.
“Both countries provided few details about the incident, which took place last Sunday, but the Italian media published many reports from which it appears that this was a meeting between intelligence personnel from the two countries,” Walla added.
Iran-Russia Connection?
A day earlier, Il Corriere reported that many Russian oligarchs, who are allegedly involved in the transfer of Iranian drones to Moscow, operate in the region.
“Likewise, the richness of the territory of industries that deal with helicopters, airplanes, and aerospace engineering remains undeniable.”
Therefore, Israel would have a “significant interest in monitoring any relationship between Italian and Iranian companies, which are involved in dealing civilian components used for the drones”.
The curious case of Lake Maggiore suggests that the incident might have not been a mere ‘incident’ after all, and neither the weight of the boat cargo nor bad weather played a role in what transpired on that day.
The alternative readings of that story and the conspiracy theories that have surfaced since then have largely come from Western and Israeli sources.
Neither Russia nor Iran have offered an official explanation of their own.
The coming days and weeks could reveal more ..
(The Palestine Chronicle & Palestine Chronicle Italia)
(The Palestine Chronicle & Palestine Chronicle Italia)
