Israel arrests 7 nationals suspected of spying for Iran: What we know

Seven Israeli nationals were arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran for the last two years, allegedly carrying out hundreds of missions on behalf of Tehran until they were detained on Sept. 19.

The state prosecutor's office submitted preliminary documents Monday for indictments against the seven. The indictments are expected to be filed on Friday for a series of security offenses including cooperation with the enemy, a crime punishable by life imprisonment.

Accusations

The prosecution alleges that the suspects completed some 600 missions for Iran, including photographing and gathering intelligence on military bases and sensitive infrastructure as well as spying on military chiefs. 

Israel's Ramat David air base, Nevatim air base, Mossad headquarters in Glilot, Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv and Golani Brigade base in the north, where four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone attack last week, were among the sites allegedly surveilled by the group. Several of these military bases were targeted by Iran during its Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack. The suspects are also accused of photographing the Hadera power plant and Iron Dome missile defense battery sites. 

"The network conducted extensive reconnaissance missions on Israeli military bases nationwide, focusing on air force and navy installations, ports, Iron Dome system locations and energy infrastructure such as the Hadera power plant," read an Israeli police statement. It went on that suspects "were given maps of strategic sites by their handlers, including of the Golani Brigade base" as part of their mission. It called the affair "one of the most serious investigations in Israel in recent years."

The investigation found that two Iranian agents — code-named Alhan and Orhan — transferred hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash and Bitcoin to the suspects and instructed them to buy special surveillance equipment for their missions. The cash was delivered by three Russian nationals inside Israel. It is unclear whether the Russians had entered Israel as tourists or immigrants. 

The police said the two Iranian agents established lists of sites to be photographed and how much the suspects would be paid for each mission, of which there were sometimes as many as three or four per day. The images were sent via secure channels to Iran. 

Contact with Iran was allegedly established via a Turkish national named Alhassan. Israeli police said that Alhassan was a suspect in other recent espionage cases including that of Moti Maman, an Israeli who lived in Turkey and is suspected of traveling twice to Iran and agreeing to spy in Israel on Tehran’s behalf. Maman, who was also arrested Sept. 19 after another investigation, is accused of gathering information to facilitate the assassination of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Who are they?

According to the police, the seven Jewish men — five adults, one of them a deserted soldier, and two minors — were all from the Haifa region and without stable employment. They had immigrated to Israel from Azerbaijan. Two are father and son. 

The investigation by Israel’s Shin Bet and Police Unit 433, which began two months ago, ended Sept. 19 when three of the men were arrested while photographing an army base, followed by the four others. 

According to the police, all seven were knowingly working for Iran and had been tasked with recruiting more Israelis but were arrested before they could do so.

On Oct. 14, two more Israelis were arrested — a 30-year-old man and his 18-year-old girlfriend — who were in contact with Iranian agents for allegedly carrying out several missions on behalf of Iran including hanging posters, hiding money and setting fire to vehicles. The couple were reportedly also instructed to sabotage ATMs and to start forest fires and were paid some $5,000 for each mission.

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel instructed his office to look into revoking the citizenship of the seven Israelis suspected of espionage.

Sensitive US documents leaked to pro-Iran group

In parallel, the United States is currently investigating the unauthorized release of classified documents containing details about Israel’s military preparations ahead of a possible strike on Iran, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. The documents appeared on a pro-Iranian Telegram account.

Quoting three unnamed American officials, the report claimed that the documents had originated in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency and contained details about the types of missile Israel might use and a recent Israeli military drill simulating an attack on Iran.

US officials said they are investigating how the documents were obtained by the pro-Iranian group and whether it was an intentional leak by a member of the American intelligence community or obtained via hacking. According to Israeli news reports, the Biden administration apologized to Israel for the security breach.