(JTA) — An Iranian pilot threatened to move to Israel and work with the state to undermine the Islamic Republic’s government. Maj. Ahmad-Reza Khosravi, who defected to Turkey last year, said he will seek asylum in Israel if Iran doesn’t stop intimidating his wife and son, The Times of Israel reported April 13. Should Khosravi follow through, he would not be the only non-Jewish Iranian to seek haven in Israel. Payam Feili, a gay Iranian poet, has been living in Tel Aviv since last year and has said he hopes to stay in the country “long term.” Khosravi, 39, was a pilot in the helicopter unit of the Iranian Security Services before fleeing to Turkey last March following unsuccessful attempts to be discharged from the military over his ideological objections to the regime.

Interviewed in Turkey by The Times of Israel’s Persian edition, Khosravi said if the Iranian government does not stop bothering his wife and son, who remained in Iran, he will do whatever he can to hurt the regime. He said that after serving 19 years in Iran’s security services, he put in a request to be discharged due to “the differences in beliefs and opinions with the regime, and since I do not believe in the religion of Islam,” he said.

Khosravi crossed the border into Turkey in March 2015. Last September, Turkish authorities arrested two Iranians who allegedly were in the country on a mission to kidnap Khosravi and return him to Iran.