A Former Israeli Minister Arrested on Charges of Spying for Iran

Gonen Segev, a former minister in the Israeli cabinet, has been arrested on charges of espionage for the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Israeli prosecution has filed an indictment against him. Israeli media reported on Monday, June 18, based on a joint report from the internal security service, Shin Bet, and the police, that Gonen Segev has been in custody and under interrogation for several weeks. This former Israeli energy minister is accused of 'deliberate cooperation' in 'transferring information to the enemy during wartime' and 'spying against the country.' According to the reports, Gonen Segev provided information from Israel, including 'in the field of energy, security sites, buildings, and political and security job holders in Israel to Iranian agents and has personally traveled to Iran twice at the invitation of Iranian intelligence officials.' The indictment states that Mr. Segev, in order to prove to Iranian agents that he had completed the assigned missions, met with Israelis active in the protection of personalities, security, and foreign relations while in Israel, and also 'attempted to connect other Israelis with Iranian intelligence forces.' The report adds that Mr. Segev first contacted Iranian intelligence agents at the Iranian embassy in Nigeria in 2012 during his business activities in the African country and 'knowingly continued these contacts,' traveling to Iran twice at their invitation, and 'knew who he was working with.' Another significant accusation against Mr. Segev is the possession and use of covert encrypted equipment for exchanging information between him and Iranian agents. The report that Shin Bet and the Israeli police allowed to be published indicates that Gonen Segev was denied entry to Equatorial Guinea last month during a trip from Nigeria due to his criminal background, and instead, his extradition request from Israel was accepted because 'information had been gathered about some of his actions against Israel.' According to Israeli media, immediately after Gonen Segev was transferred to the country in mid-spring this year, he was arrested and interrogated. The indictment prepared by the Jerusalem prosecution against this former politician has been approved by the senior legal advisor to the government and the attorney general of the country. Eli Zohar and Moshe Mazor, two defense attorneys for Mr. Segev from the Goldfarb-Zeligman law firm, immediately after the report of his arrest and formal accusation of espionage for Iran became public, stated in interviews with Israeli media that although 'many parts of the indictment are classified,' the report that security agencies provided to the media presents a 'much graver image of the truth.' Gonen Segev, 65, who served as Israel's energy minister from January 1995 to June 1996, has been engaged in business for the past two decades after stepping away from politics, including living in Africa. Over the past decade, Mr. Segev's name has come up in Israel twice, and he has been accused of criminal activity. During this time, he was tried twice, but this is the first time he has been charged with espionage for Israel's most ardent enemy. In 2003, he was accused of withdrawing 20,000 shekels, equivalent to five thousand dollars, six times from an ATM in Hong Kong with his credit card but told the credit card company that his card had been stolen. The Tel Aviv court sentenced him to one year of probation and a fine of 50,000 shekels in this case. In early 2005, Mr. Segev was also accused of deliberately manipulating to extend the validity of his diplomatic passport while he was a minister, transferring 30,000 ecstasy pills to Israel. He was sentenced to five years of imprisonment and a fine of 27,500 dollars but was released on a periodic pardon in the summer of 2007. Gonen Segev is a physician, but his medical license was permanently revoked in 2007. After that, he went to Africa for business. The governments of Israel and Iran have been sworn enemies for the past forty years, but hostility between them has escalated in the last decade to the brink of potential war. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, unveiled two months ago 'half a ton of Iranian nuclear documents' that 'were obtained by Israel,' which Israeli officials described as one of the most significant intelligence operations in the history of Mossad's activities. However, if at least some of the reports mentioned by Israeli security agencies against this former minister are accurate, it may indicate that Iranian intelligence agencies have also been engaged in a major covert war against Israel and may have had their own 'successes.'