Israeli who spied for Iran sentenced to 10 years in prison

After plotting assassinations for Iran, convicted Israeli spy claims it was only about the money.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

An Israeli man who illegally traveled to Iran twice and spied on behalf of the Islamic Republic was sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage on Tuesday.

Mordechai (Moti) Maman, 72, from the southern city of Ashkelon, plead guilty to charges including illicitly entering an enemy state and making contact with a foreign agent.

“The judge issued a sentence that reflects the gravity of cooperating with Iran. The message is clear: cooperating with Iran simply isn’t worth it,” the prosecutor’s office said in a media statement.

Maman’s attorneys said that the sentence was “disproportionate” and that they would appeal the ruling.

In 2024, Maman traveled to Iran on two separate occasions – a clear violation of Israeli law – meeting with senior members of Iran’s security apparatus.

On his second trip, the Iranians attempted to convince him to recruit assassins to murder Israeli politicians.

Maman admitted his guilt and said he was strictly motivated by money, saying that he had not actually planned to harm Israel’s security and had requested an advance of one million dollars from the Iranians.

A source who claimed to know Maman told Hebrew-language outlet Ynet that the spy was known for his dubious business projects.

Maman “was involved in shady dealings with criminals…he did a lot of business with Arabs and I think that’s how the Iranians got to him because they realized they could exploit him since he’s quite naïve and isn’t deeply familiar with the criminal world,” the source said.

“Even if he agreed to carry out the operation, I think he would’ve taken the money from the Iranians and then disappeared. I know he’s done that with other businesses he went to in Africa — he didn’t pay back his debts to those he did business with there,” he added.