Israeli authorities are confronting a growing wave of Iranian espionage attempts as multiple arrests reveal a pattern of recruitment, surveillance and collaboration within the country—many during wartime.
In the latest case, revealed Monday, a 19-year-old from central Israel was arrested for allegedly maintaining contact with an Iranian operative and passing on classified information. The arrest, conducted jointly by the Shin Bet and Israel Police, is one of several similar incidents uncovered since Israel’s war with Iran began earlier this month.
This arrest follows another case announced Monday in which Dimitri Cohen, a 28-year-old resident of Haifa, was arrested in late May for allegedly conducting espionage missions on Iran’s behalf.
According to investigators, Cohen transferred sensitive footage of IDF bases, strategic facilities and the private residences of senior Israeli officials. For each mission, he was paid $500 in bitcoin.
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Cohen was allegedly recruited via a job-search website popular among Russian-speaking immigrants. From mid-April until his arrest on May 27, he completed multiple tasks, some of which he shared with his girlfriend and a friend—both briefly detained and later released. In his interrogation, Cohen admitted he suspected the assignments were for espionage but continued, “out of greed.”
“This has become a trend,” warned Israel Police Coastal District chief Commander Yoni Hajaj. “There are now dozens of people working for Iran. What once seemed like an innocent photo of a base is now clearly a targeting tool. With missiles hitting the country, we see the destructive consequences of giving the Iranians coordinates for sensitive sites in Israel.”
Authorities say Cohen’s case mirrors another recent incident from May, in which Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias, both 25 and from northern Israel, were arrested for planting surveillance cameras and transporting objects at the request of Iranian operatives.
One of the camera locations was in Kfar Achim, the hometown of Defense Minister Israel Katz—raising fears that Iran was aiming to assassinate him.
Shadi Siaga, head of the Cohen investigation team, said the suspect researched similar spy cases online, confirming his suspicion that he was working for a hostile intelligence service. “He knew what he was doing and kept doing it—for money,” Siaga said.
Later in the day, police and Shin Bet announced that a 27-year-old Tel Aviv resident was arrested on suspicion of working on behalf of a hostile Iranian operative. According to the investigation, the suspect had maintained contact with the Iranian handler for several months and carried out tasks including photographing homes of public officials, military bases and spraying graffiti—all in exchange for thousands of dollars paid in cryptocurrency.
Police detectives raided the suspect’s home in Tel Aviv, seizing computers and digital media allegedly used to communicate with the Iranian contact. His detention was extended Tuesday morning through June 26.
Shin Bet and police warned of repeated attempts by Iranian intelligence and terrorist elements to recruit Israeli citizens through social media, urging the public to avoid any contact with foreign operatives.
All of the suspects may face serious charges, including espionage during wartime, a crime that can carry the death penalty under Israeli law. Security officials warn the incidents may represent only a fraction of a wider Iranian effort to recruit Israeli citizens online, with the aim of identifying targets for missile strikes and other attacks.