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Seven Israeli citizens were arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out hundreds of tasks at the behest of the Islamic Republic, prosecutors said on Monday. “This is one of the most severe cases we’ve ever investigated. There is a real possibility that the main charge will be aiding the enemy in wartime, for which the penalty is death or life imprisonment,” said Chief Superintendent Yaron Binyamin, who heads the Lahav 433 serious crimes unit of the Israel Police.
The suspects, all residents of Haifa and the north who emigrated from Azerbaijan, include a soldier who deserted the military, as well as two minors aged 16-17. They performed some 600 missions over two years, authorities said. The adult suspects were named as Azis Nisanov, Alexander Sadykov, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe and Yigal Nissan, while the minors were left unnamed.
According to suspicions, one Israeli was originally recruited to the spy work by someone in Azerbaijan, who put the Israeli in contact with a Turkish intermediary who called himself “Alkhasan,” after which the rest of the ring was recruited. The Israelis allegedly interacted with two Iranian agents, who called themselves “Alhan” and “Orhan,” with knowledge that the information they passed on could endanger the state. “They were desperate for tasks, because they were desperate for money,” a police source said.
The suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information on IDF bases and facilities, including the Kirya defense headquarters in Tel Aviv and the Nevatim and Ramat David air bases, on behalf of Iranian agents with whom they were in contact through the Turkish intermediary. Some of the locations that the suspects are accused of scouting have been targeted since the outbreak of war last year: Nevatim base was targeted in two Iranian missile attacks, and Ramat David has been targeted by Hezbollah. The suspects are also accused of gathering information on Iron Dome batteries, ports and energy infrastructure, including the power plant in Hadera.
The Israelis allegedly received maps of strategic sites from their handlers, including of the Golani training base that was hit in a deadly drone attack earlier this month. In addition, they allegedly reported to their Iranian contacts about direct impacts of projectiles following Iran’s April attack on Israel, information that could help the Islamic Republic improve its precision in future strikes. “As part of the investigation, many materials were seized that were collected by members of the network and passed on to Iranian agents, including photos and videos of many Israel Defense Forces bases across the country, ports, and energy infrastructure in Israel, all while the country is at war on several fronts,” said a senior Shin Bet official.
“Our assessment is that the activities of this ring caused damage to the security of Israel,” the official said. In return for their actions, the suspects were allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of it in cryptocurrency, and some of it in cash that was delivered by Russian tourists. Prosecutors on Monday said they intend to file an indictment against the seven suspects for security offenses on Friday, and will request that they be held in detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings.
To carry out their missions, the suspects used advanced equipment, authorities said, that they purchased specifically for that purpose, under the supervision of their Iranian contacts. The Israelis are also accused of collecting information for their Iranian contacts about several Israeli citizens, including a senior security figure, whom authorities have not publicly identified — and may have been part of a plot to ultimately assassinate the figure. The suspects allegedly followed this figure, including taking pictures at his door, and also surveilled his children.
Some of the suspects were allegedly caught surveilling an Israeli citizen, and, upon their arrest on September 19, investigators uncovered the larger spy ring. As part of undercover investigations into the ring, authorities managed to record members of the network discussing the work among themselves, saying that they were waiting to receive further missions, for money. The Shin Bet in recent months has announced a series of alleged Iranian plots, in which Tehran had tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions.
In September, a man from the southern city of Ashkelon was arrested on allegations that he was smuggled into Iran twice and received payment to carry out missions on behalf of Tehran, and was recruited to assassinateeither Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet. Then, on October 14, a man and his 18-year-old partner, both from Ramat Gan, were arrested on charges they carried out various acts of sabotage and vandalism on behalf of an Iranian agent. On October 16, the Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of a man from central Israel, who allegedly acquired a weapon in order to kill an Israeli scientist on instructions from an Iranian agent, after performing several smaller tasks on the agent’s behalf.
Those recent cases came after authorities in January uncovered a scheme involving Israelis who were allegedly recruited to gather intelligence on high-profile figures. After news of the arrests broke on Monday, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar called for Israel to impose the death penalty on those convicted of treason during times of war. “The phenomenon of traitors to the country harming Israel’s security for the sake of money while we are fighting for our future in an existential war demands the harshest measures, including a law allowing for the death penalty for aiding the enemy in wartime.
“This is the only way we can create a clear deterrent that will prevent further similar cases,” Zohar said in a statement. Israel’s penal code already includes capital punishment, but only for exceedingly rare cases, treason being one of them. Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann was one of only two people executed by the state in over 75 years.
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