An Iranian operative who posed as a Jew living in Iran persuaded five Israelis via social media to gather information that included photographs of a US diplomatic mission, the Shin Bet counter-intelligence agency said yesterday.
The spy ring consisted of four women and one man, who were all Jewish immigrants from Iran or descendants of Iranian immigrants. The five were arrested, local media channels said quoting the Shin Bet.
The Shin Bet said they were indicted for “serious crimes” in a Jerusalem court over the past month, in connection with their contacts with the man, who called himself “Rambod Nambar” on Facebook and chatted with them via WhatsApp.
Authorities charged the four women with establishing contact with a foreign agent, which carries a jail term of up to 15 years.
Three of them were charged of providing information that may serve the interest of an enemy, which carries a maximum three-year prison sentence.
Also, an indictment was served against a taxi driver, married to one of the women, for bringing his wife along to a site to take photographs of her.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised the Shin Bet for stopping the spy ring: “Israel is in a campaign against Iran. We see clear efforts and incessant attempts by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to recruit Israeli citizens.”
“These attempts go beyond security and intelligence,” Bennett said. “They are expanding to efforts to influence the citizens of Israel and Israeli society, sow discord and polarisation, undermine political stability in Israel and damage the public’s trust in the government.”
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