Israeli intelligence foils major Iranian spy rings amid rising security concerns

Israel's arrest of nearly 30 individuals, mostly Jewish citizens, accused of espionage on behalf of Iran has raised significant concerns within the country.

The arrests highlight Tehran's most extensive effort in decades to infiltrate its primary adversary, according to four Israeli security sources, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The alleged espionage rings, which operated in nine covert cells, had various objectives, including the planned assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist and former military officials. One group also focused on gathering intelligence about military bases and air defence systems.

According to the Shin Bet security service, a father and son duo were recently apprehended for passing on sensitive information about Israeli military movements, including those in the Golan Heights where they resided. The arrests come after ongoing attempts by Iranian intelligence agents over the past two years to recruit ordinary Israelis for espionage and attacks in return for financial rewards, according to four current and former military and security officials. Due to the sensitive nature of the issue, the sources requested anonymity. 

"There is a large phenomenon here," said Shalom Ben Hanan, a former top Shin Bet official, referring to what he called the surprising number of Jewish citizens who knowingly agreed to work for Iran against the state with intelligence gathering or planning sabotage and attacks. 

Shin Bet and the police declined to comment on the matter, and Iran's foreign ministry did not respond to inquiries. In a statement issued to the media following the arrests, Iran's UN mission neither confirmed nor denied efforts to recruit Israelis. They stated that, "from a logical standpoint," any such attempts by Iranian intelligence would be directed at non-Iranian and non-Muslim individuals in order to avoid raising suspicion. 

According to the police and Shin Bet, at least two of the suspects were from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community. Unlike previous Iranian espionage operations, which targeted high-profile figures such as a prominent businessman and a former cabinet minister, the latest alleged spies were primarily individuals on the fringes of Israeli society. 

These included recent immigrants, an army deserter, and a convicted sex offender, as revealed through conversations with sources, court records, and official statements. According to Shin Bet, much of the activity of the suspects involved in the recent espionage case was limited to acts such as spraying anti-Netanyahu or anti-government graffiti on walls and damaging vehicles. 

Despite the relatively low-level nature of some of these actions, the scale of the arrests and the involvement of so many Jewish Israelis—alongside Arab citizens—has raised concerns within Israel, particularly as the country remains engaged in conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and faces a fragile ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. 

By Naila Huseynova