Israel Arrests Three Suspects Linked to the Islamic Republic

Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, announced that it has arrested three citizens of the country suspected of acting against national security under the guidance of Islamic Republic intelligence agents over the past two weeks. The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday, July 16, that based on investigations, one of the suspects named Elimelech Stern, a resident of Beit Shemesh, had contacted a Telegram account named 'Anna Elena' and acted upon requests from the operators of this account in Israel. According to the report, the actions of this 21-year-old citizen included installing signs in Tel Aviv, hiding money in various locations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and delivering packages containing decapitated animals or dolls alongside a knife and a threatening message to Israeli civilians. Detectives stated that Elimelech Stern had agreed to carry out any operations other than committing murder and setting forests on fire. According to Shin Bet, this Israeli citizen had also hired two other Israelis to collaborate in these operations, in addition to receiving payments through cryptocurrency. The Israeli security agency stated in a statement that 'establishing contact with Israeli citizens through fake identities on social media is a known method of Iranian intelligence services.' Last year, following espionage charges against five Iranian-descended Israelis for the Islamic Republic, two of them were acquitted and another was convicted on a related charge. Iranian-affiliated infiltration groups threatened Israeli journalists with death. Sweden accused the Islamic Republic of using criminal groups within the country. Mossad stated that a criminal network supported by the Islamic Republic was responsible for attacks on Israeli embassies in Europe. The Iranian hacker group 'APT 42' uses advanced social engineering schemes to spy on victims.