Detention of Suspects Charged with Espionage for Iran in a Special Section of Israeli Prisons

The Israeli Prison Service, under the orders of Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of National Security, will imprison newly arrested suspects in recent weeks on charges of espionage for Iran's intelligence agency in a separate section. According to Israeli media reports, the level of 'danger' posed by these suspects is assessed as 'very high,' and their imprisonment in regular detention blocks with other Palestinian or Israeli prisoners poses a risk of leaking confidential information and also 'inspiring' criminals. In the past month, Israel announced the arrest of 21 Palestinian and Israeli citizens on charges of 'espionage' for the Islamic Republic's intelligence agency in exchange for receiving cryptocurrency. At least nine of them, including a 32-year-old couple residing in Lod, who were reported arrested on November 1, are accused of being tasked by an Iranian operative named Elshan (Ilhan) Aghayev, residing in Azerbaijan, to spy against Israel. Reports indicate that Aghayev may also hold Iranian citizenship and has attempted to recruit citizens of Azerbaijan who have immigrated to Israel. One of the suspects has apparently 'confessed' to meeting Aghayev in Azerbaijan. Israel also announced on November 1 the arrest of a young religious man named Benjamin Weiss, who is accused of tracking an Israeli nuclear scientist from the Weizmann Institute at the request of an Iranian intelligence officer. Apparently, the most significant suspect arrested recently is Moti (Mordechai) Maman, an Israeli-Turkish businessman who was secretly taken to Iran twice this summer to meet with Iranian intelligence operatives through 'businessmen in Turkey' and was tasked with requests such as attempting to kill the current Prime Minister, the current Minister of Defense, the former Prime Minister, and finding an operative in Mossad willing to cooperate with Iran. This is the first time in the 46-year hostility between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel that Israel has announced the arrest of a large number of residents of this country on charges of espionage for Iran. Israel claims that in recent attacks by Iran and Hezbollah, images and videos taken by these espionage suspects were used, including for killing soldiers of the Golani Brigade. A Hezbollah drone attack last month hit a restaurant of Golani forces in the city of Binyamina, resulting in four deaths and 65 injuries. Some Israeli officials speculated that the attack was directed by officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and based on Iranian intelligence.