Maman knew that the discussions’ goal was to ‘advance assassination attacks’ on Israeli officials, the Shin Bet said.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Following the arrest on Thursday of 73-year-old Israeli Moti Maman from Ashkelon on charges of spying against Israel for Iran, security officials reveal how terror states like Iran recruit Israelis, sometimes unwittingly, sometimes with full awareness of the crime.
Maman was detained in a joint operation between the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 National Crime Unit.
The businessman, who spent a significant amount of time in Turkey, became acquainted with Iranian agents who recruited him to carry out surveillance activities, such as photographing public places in Israel.
Maman knew that the discussions’ goal was to “advance assassination attacks” on Israeli officials, the Shin Bet said.
Iranian officials also asked the Israeli if he could help recruit assassins to kill Iranian dissidents living in exile in the West.
Maman demanded an advance payment of one million dollars before carrying out any missions on behalf of Iran.
That request was denied, but the Iranians compensated Maman for participating in the meetings with 5,000 euros.
Maariv spoke to Lior Ackerman, Head of National Resilience at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University and Chairman of the New People’s Council, about how Iran and terrorist organizations recruit Israelis.
“Iran’s efforts at recruiting Israeli agents and instructing them to operate within Israel are not new. For years, Shin Bet has foiled numerous plots, thwarted incidents, and made arrests. Shin Bet succeeded on many occasions in stopping the incidents before they caused damage.”
In many cases, the Israelis targeted are unaware of the motives of the people they meet online, and Iran often tries to contact vulnerable people through fake profiles on social media.
“The Iranians frequently operate through social media and use fake profiles. They have often recruited Israelis who were naive to gather information for them.”
However, Maman’s current case doesn’t appear to be an example of Iran recruiting an unwitting agent through social media.
“This case is unusual because it involves locating a specific Israeli and recruiting him to assist in carrying out actual attacks within Israel in exchange for money. ”
“He was even taken to meetings in Iran. Clearly, this is not a case of an innocent citizen who didn’t know what he was doing.”