Reuters Report on Iran's 'Largest Effort' to Infiltrate Israel

On Wednesday, December 12, Reuters reported in an interview with four Israeli security sources that the arrest of about 30 Israeli citizens, who are said to have been spying for the Islamic Republic of Iran within the framework of nine secret cells, has heightened concerns about Iran's 'largest effort' to infiltrate this country in decades. According to the report, the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) stated that one of their failed objectives was the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist and former military officials, and one group was also collecting information about military bases and air defense. Last week, Shin Bet and the Israeli police announced that a father and son residing in the Golan Heights were gathering information about Israeli forces for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Four current and former military and security officials, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that the arrests followed repeated attempts by Iranian intelligence agents over the past two years to recruit ordinary Israeli citizens for espionage. The Iranian representation at the United Nations, in a statement sent to the media after the wave of arrests, neither confirmed nor denied the attempts to recruit Israelis, stating that 'logically' such efforts would focus on non-Iranians and non-Muslims to reduce suspicion. The police and Shin Bet stated that at least two suspects were from the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel. According to sources, court documents, and official statements, unlike Iran's espionage operations in previous decades, which had recruited a well-known businessman and a former government minister, the new spies were mainly individuals from the margins of Israeli society, including migrants, a deserter, and a convicted sex offender. Shin Bet stated that most of these individuals' activities were limited to graffiti against Benjamin Netanyahu or against the government and vandalizing cars. Nevertheless, the extent of the arrests and the involvement of many Israeli Jews in this operation, especially at a time when Israel is still at war with Hamas, which is supported by the Islamic Republic in Gaza, has raised concerns. Shin Bet announced on October 22 of this year that these espionage activities were among the most severe actions identified by the Israeli government. The Israeli police, in a video released last month, stated that Iranian intelligence agencies often find potential individuals to advance their goals on social media. One of the messages sent to an Israeli citizen, which Reuters has seen, promised a payment of $15,000 in exchange for information. An Israeli suspect named Vladislav Victorson, 30, was arrested on October 15 of this year along with his 18-year-old girlfriend in the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv. He had been imprisoned in 2015 for having sexual relations with children under 14. Shin Bet and the police stated that Victorson knew he was working for Iranian intelligence agents and received over $5,000 for the sabotage actions he had carried out. Israeli security services reported that he had used his girlfriend to attract homeless individuals to photograph protests. The arrests of the Israeli couple on suspicion of espionage for the Islamic Republic, the entry of the U.S. federal police into the case of leaked confidential information regarding Israel's attack plans on Iran, the seven arrested Israeli citizens who intended to assassinate a senior Israeli nuclear scientist, and the White House's statement that Biden is 'very concerned' about the leak of information related to Israel's plans to attack Iran, are all significant developments. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the arrest of 12 'collaborators' of Israel in Iran.