Trial of Two Israeli Reserve Soldiers Accused of 'Contact' with Iranian Security Agents

Two reserve soldiers of the Israeli army have been brought to court for an extension of their detention on charges of 'contact' with Islamic Republic intelligence agents, including 'leaking information' about Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. According to Israeli police, one of the 21-year-old soldiers began cooperating with an Iranian security agent through Telegram while serving in the Iron Dome forces. Israeli media reported on Monday, January 28, after the two defendants were sent to the court in Rishon Lezion, that Yuri Elyas-Pov received $3,500 in cryptocurrency and, in return, provided a video he took of the Iron Dome system at his service location along with military information about how it operates and the flight of fighter jets when firing rockets from this system to an individual who was an intelligence agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to reports, Yuri Elyas-Pov encouraged his friend Georgy Adrif to contact the Iranian intelligence agent if he wanted to receive 'easy money.' Georgy Adrif, who served in the Ministry of Defense complex in Tel Aviv, known as 'Kriya,' apparently only managed to receive $70 because he put up a poster with the Hebrew words equivalent to 'Children of Ruhollah' in northern Israel. Police stated that Elyas-Pov's contact with the Iranian intelligence agent began in September when Israel was engaged in the Gaza and Lebanon war, and the Iron Dome defense system was crucial for countering rockets fired by the extremist group Hamas and Hezbollah for the protection of Israeli lives. Elyas-Pov's mother told Israeli media on Monday night that her son was finishing his military service and did not need money. The families of the two defendants, residents of the city of Kiryat Yam in northern Israel, like many other recent similar defendants, are immigrants from Russia and the Caucasus. According to Israeli army radio, the arrest of these two defendants marks the fourteenth case of discovering Israeli networks accused of espionage for Iran; however, since these two soldiers had access to classified information, and their contact occurred at a time when Israel was at war with the proxy forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Gaza, Lebanon, and the region, their charges are heavier. Assisting the enemy during wartime could lead to a life sentence or potential execution, although in the past 77 years, no one except Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi responsible for Jewish affairs during Nazi Germany, has been executed in Israel. An Israeli police officer from the 'Lahav 433' unit, which interrogated the two new defendants, told Channel Kan on Monday night that Iranian intelligence agents initially assign simple tasks like graffiti writing to individuals who respond to their contact requests and then gradually lure them into missions such as tracking officials and specific individuals and procuring weapons, following this process by increasing the money paid. Also, Sarit Perez, an investigator from the Israeli police security department, issued a public warning to the people of the country on Monday, saying anyone in contact with foreign elements should stop these contacts. According to Israel Hayom newspaper, a 16-year-old teenager recently contacted the police emergency line and said that Iran had contacted him with a 'job offer.' The police confirmed the validity of this report. In recent months, Israeli security agencies have arrested more than 30 other citizens, including seven Palestinians residing in East Jerusalem, on charges of 'contact' with Iranian intelligence agents and introduced them to the courts after presenting indictments from the prosecutor's office. One of these defendants, named Moti (Mordechai) Maman, who is the oldest among the mentioned group and previously worked in trade in Turkey, was convicted two weeks ago in court, and his sentence is expected to be issued soon.