Israel: The Number of Arrests for Spying for Iran Has Quadrupled

Israel's internal security agency announced that in 2024, it arrested 27 citizens in 13 cases of espionage for the Islamic Republic of Iran and handed them over to court after interrogation. The agency stated that the number of arrests for spying for Iran has quadrupled compared to 2023. The internal security agency, also known as Shin Bet or Shabak, described the identification and arrest of suspects as a means to thwart Iranian intelligence efforts against Israel. The year 2024 and the last three months of 2023 were marked as a year of war on 'seven fronts' for Israel, which it attributes to the Islamic Republic of Iran's attempts to harm it. According to Israeli media, 20 of those arrested in 2024 are Jewish citizens, mainly from Russian and Caucasian immigrants, and seven are Palestinians from East Jerusalem, with indictments filed against most of them. An Israeli citizen accused of spying for Iran was convicted in court. Before the Gaza war, there were few cases of Israeli citizens being arrested on suspicion of intelligence cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran. On January 1, the internal security agency and the Israeli police announced the latest case of an Israeli citizen arrested on suspicion of collaboration with Iranian security agencies. According to a joint statement from Shabak and the police, Alexander Grunovski, a resident of Petah Tikva, began intelligence cooperation with Iran via a Telegram channel in November this year. In the first two weeks, in exchange for receiving money in cryptocurrency, he set fire to nine vehicles in central Israel and spray-painted on the burned cars in Hebrew, 'Children of Ruhollah,' as per the request of the agents he was in contact with. Shabak and the police stated that Grunovski was arrested while he was exploring the acquisition of weapons in line with the requests of Iranian intelligence agents. He is also accused of taking photos of the residence of Benny Gantz, the former defense minister, and sending them to Iranian agents. Israeli media reported that Mr. Grunovski, a Russian immigrant, 'immediately' confessed to his crime upon seeing the evidence collected against him. After the extension of his detention by the court at the beginning of the week, the prosecution submitted the indictment against him on Thursday, January 4, to the Petah Tikva court. The Beersheba court in southern Israel last week convicted the first suspect among the Israelis arrested this year on suspicion of spying for Iran. Moti (Mordechai) Maman was convicted on two counts of 'contact with enemy agents' and 'two illegal secret trips to Iran,' but the court has not yet determined his punishment. According to the prosecution, Iranian agents had asked Mr. Maman, a 72-year-old businessman residing in Istanbul who had traveled to Iran twice this summer after meeting Turkish businessmen, to attempt to kill senior Israeli officials. An Israeli police commander this week urged the people of Israel to refrain from any cooperation with unknown agents on their social media, as it is suspected that Iranian intelligence is behind them. Last week, Israeli police showcased a newly established special section named '171' in an Israeli prison designated for 'Iranian spies.' Most of the defendants are in solitary confinement. The commander of this section stated that although these individuals are citizens, they have been ordered to be treated like 'terrorists of Hamas’s elite unit.'