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A man from Tajikistan with a Russian passport was recently arrested on suspicion of spying on Israel on behalf of Iran and working to recruit additional spies, the Israel Police, Shin Bet security agency and Defense Ministry announced on July 2.
A joint investigation found that Behrouz Sobirgon was in contact with an Iranian handler starting in January, with most of his “security activity” taking place during the recent war with Iran.
In a statement, the police, Shin Bet, and Defense Ministry said that during the war the recent war with the Islamic Republic, the man “sought to help Iran achieve operational successes and advance its objectives in the international arena against the State of Israel.”
Sobirgon was approached with “an innocent job offer,” but he “quickly realized that it had been made by an Iranian agent and nevertheless maintained contact,” according to the investigation.
Among the missions carried out by the man was “documenting and transferring the locations of Iranian missile impact sites,” providing coordinates of the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv, sending a photo of the Haifa Port, and attempting to photograph a “sensitive security facility” in northern Israel, the joint statement says.
“In addition to all of this, he actively assisted in recruiting additional people for missions on behalf of Iranian operatives,” it adds.
Israel prosecutors will file an indictment against Sobirgon, who was arrested in June. They also ask that he be kept in custody until the end of legal proceedings.
This incident is the latest in a rising wave of espionage cases in Israel, involving both citizens and residents recruited by Iranian intelligence for paid missions inside the country.
Just two days earlier, the Israeli Police and Shin Bet announced that a citizen of the United States residing in the Jerusalem area was arrested on suspicion of maintaining contact with Iranian intelligence operatives and carrying out paid assignments that included photographing sensitive sites in Israel.
Iranian intelligence is becoming increasingly successful at penetrating Israel, despite the latter’s extremely strict security measures.
This success is likely due to two main factors: first, the proliferation of social media, which has greatly eased the processes of establishing contact, recruitment, and communication in general; and second, the global backlash against Israel over the wars in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Iran.
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