Police arrested three Uzbek nationals for the killing of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi, officials from the United Arab Emirates said on Monday according to reports in the Israeli media.
Zvi Kogan, 28, an ultraorthodox rabbi, went missing on Thursday in Dubai.
Kogan ran a kosher grocery store in Dubai, which since Israel and UAE forged diplomatic ties in the 2020 Abraham Accords, has seen an influx of Israelis.
The grocery store, The Rimon Market, was shut Sunday.
The market has previously faced online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.
Jewish symbols called Mezuzahs that had been affixed to the market's front and back doors appeared to have been forcibly removed, according to observations made by an Associated Press journalist.
Rivky Kogan, the wife of Kogan, is a U.S. citizen and the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The UAE Interior Ministry identified the three suspects as Olimpi Tohirovic, 28; Mahmoud John Abdul Rahim, 28; and Azizi Kamilovic, 33.
State-run WAM news agency published blurred images of the suspects and did not say if charges had been filed.
It remains unclear whether the suspects have legal representation in the UAE.
Newsweek has reached out to the Uzbek Consulate in Dubai via its social media.
Could Iran Be Involved in the Killing?
Israeli media reports, citing unnamed security officials, alleged that the suspects in Kogan's killing were of Uzbek origin.
Uzbek nationals have reportedly been implicated in previous Iranian operations targeting dissidents and other individuals.
Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, has been threatening to retaliate against Israel after a wave of airstrikes Israel carried out in October against Iran. This Israeli strike was in response to an earlier Iranian ballistic missile attack.
Iran's Embassy in Abu Dhabi denied Tehran was involved in the rabbi's killing.
Does Iran Operate Secretly in UAE?
Western officials believe Iran runs active intelligence operations in the UAE. It is also understood that Iranian intelligence agencies monitor the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country.
Iran is suspected of kidnapping and later killing British Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, though Tehran has denied involvement.
Iran also kidnapped Iranian German national Jamshid Sharmahd in 2020 from Dubai, taking him back to Tehran, where he was executed in October.
What Was the U.S. Response to the Rabbi's Killing in UAE?
In a statement Sunday, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett called Kogan's killing "a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence."
"We condemn in the strongest terms the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE and our prayers are with his family, the Chabad-Lubavitch community, the broader Jewish community, and all who are mourning his loss," Savett said.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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