Israeli authorities charged on Tuesday one Israeli and detained two others for spying for Iran, the Shin Bet security service said.
The agency said that Iran has sought, in recent months, to recruit Israelis to carry out missions in the country and that the person charged had been asked, but refused, to carry out a murder and set fire to a forest.
“Shin Bet and the police international inquiries unit have arrested three Israeli citizens suspected of carrying out security activities under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents,” the agency said in a statement.
“One of them has been charged with contact with a foreign agent,” it added.
The suspect charged was approached on the Telegram channel by someone with the profile “Anna Elena” and carried out “missions” for the agent, the statement said.
It added that proposals to carry out a murder and arson in a forest were rejected.
Shin Bet said contacting Israelis on social media with an assumed profile was as “widely-used method of the Iranian intelligence services.”
“In recent months, several fictitious profiles used by Iranian security services have been found and monitored, and a lot of information collected,” the Israeli agency said.
Iran is a backer of Hamas and strongly praised the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attacks that set off the Gaza war, though it has repeatedly denied any involvement.
With AFP
