Seven Israeli citizens have been arrested on suspicion of spying on Israel’s military bases for Iranian intelligence in what is believed to be one of the most serious cases in the country, the Israel Police said on Monday.
The seven individuals, including two minors, were residents of Haifa and the northern areas of the country. Police believed the suspects have been carrying out hundreds of security tasks for Iranian intelligence for over two years.
Police said they gathered information under the direction of two Iranian intelligence agents known as “Alkhan” and “Oran” in exchange for “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in cryptocurrency.
The suspects photographed and documented key infrastructure sites and passed the information to the Iranian agents. They were also provided with specialized equipment to carry out these missions.
Police said the suspects were aware that the information they passed on to the agents could compromise Israel’s national security and, in some cases, potentially help the enemy in launching a missile attack on Israel.
Israeli authorities said the suspects’ espionage actions have caused security damage to Israel and the investigation revealed that the scope of the case was “among the most serious” in the country.
Police said the suspects acted “out of greed for money” despite being aware that their actions would harm the country. The prosecutor’s office is expected to file indictments against them in the coming days.
Israeli authorities said the investigation revealed Iran’s efforts to recruit and exploit Israeli citizens to carry out espionage and terrorist missions in Israel.
The case follows the Sept. 19 arrest of an Israeli citizen who was allegedly recruited by Iranian intelligence to plot the assassinations of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Security Agency’s chief Ronen Bar.
Police described the individual as “a businessman who lived in Turkey for an extended period” and had a Turkish contact who introduced him to a wealthy Iranian businessman named Eddie.
Authorities said the unnamed Israeli was smuggled into Iran twice for meetings with Eddie and an “Iranian security operative.”
Police said the individual received instructions to carry out various security missions for the Iranian regime, including transferring money or a gun at predetermined locations, photographing crowded places in Israel and sending them to “Iranian elements,” and threatening other Israelis recruited by Iran who had not completed their tasks.
