Israel Security Agency foils Iranian espionage plot in Golan Heights

A father and son from the Druze village of Masada in the Golan Heights have been arrested for espionage on behalf of Iran.

The pair were detained in November during a joint operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Northern District Police, but the information has been recently made public, Caliber.Az reports per Israeli media.

Bassem Safadi and his 21-year-old son, Tahrir Safadi, were gathering intelligence on the activity of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the region and passing it to Hussam as-Salam Tawfiq Zidan, a member of the Iranian Quds Force.

Zidan, who lives in Damascus under the guise of being a journalist with the Iranian state-owned Al-Alam News Network, coordinates Palestinian terrorist organisations. Under Zidan's direction, the father and son photographed soldiers and military sites, gathered information on the movement of military equipment, and passed it all to their handler. 

They continued their espionage activities during the war, providing the enemy with information on troop movements and documenting the launch of Lebanese rockets. 

Tahrir has been formally charged with espionage, while an administrative detention order has been issued for Bassem.

By Naila Huseynova