This morning (Thursday), it was cleared for publication that a few weeks ago, the Shin Bet and police forces arrested a suspect on charges of espionage and acting as an agent for Iran, a particularly severe offense during wartime. A serious indictment was filed against him in court. The suspect has cooperated in his investigation so far, revealing a clear picture of the efforts by Iranian intelligence agencies to try to harm Israel and create chaos.
According to the details released so far, the suspect is a Jewish businessman over 70 years old who had recently accumulated significant financial debts, leading him to seek criminal avenues for acquiring funds. The suspect came into contact with foreign agents through social networks and traveled twice to Iran via Turkey and Cyprus to meet his handlers face-to-face. According to suspicions, the Iranian agents asked him to assassinate a senior Israeli figure – Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, and even former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett – in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
During his interrogation, the suspect described how the Iranian agents tried to exert psychological pressure on him, claiming that by carrying out his mission, he would actually prevent a war between Iran and Israel, as Iran would be satisfied and fulfill its commitment to “avenge” the killing of Ismail Haniyeh about two months ago. The suspect claimed he never actually intended to carry out the assassinations but only sought to deceive the Iranians and take their money – though it is unclear if this is true. In any case, he was arrested immediately upon his return to Israel after his last visit to Iran.
This publication comes just days after the details were released of an incident that occurred about a year ago in Tel Aviv, during which an explosive device detonated in Yarkon Park without casualties. It has now been revealed that the device was placed by several Israeli Arabs activated by Hezbollah (who have since been indicted), with the assassination target being former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon. That case, along with this one, and the recent news from Lebanon about the brilliant intelligence operation that impacted thousands of Hezbollah members, sends a clear message to Israel’s enemies about the strength of its intelligence capabilities. For us, as Israelis, it emphasizes the weakness of our enemies and the strategy they are using to try to weaken us – without success.
