Shin Bet arrests Israeli citizen for spying for Iran

Israel’s domestic security agency said the arrest highlights Iranian efforts “to carry out spy and terror activity within Israel,” while “the world is facing the coronavirus epidemic.”

By Associated Press

The Shin Bet announced in a statement in a statement on Tuesday that it arrested a citizen who was in contact with Iranian agents abroad, where he was given money, guidance and encryption tools.

The Shin Bet said the man was expected to provide information on strategic Israeli sites, ways to promote division in Israeli society, carry out attacks against Israeli targets and enlist Arab citizens of Israel to assist Iran.

The man, whose identity was barred from publication by an Israeli court, was arrested last month and indicted Tuesday for “serious security-related offenses.”

The Shin Bet said the arrest highlights Iranian efforts “to carry out spy and terror activity within Israel, this also at a time when the world is facing the coronavirus epidemic which has badly spread in Iran.”

Iran is facing the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East. Iran’s state TV said Tuesday the new coronavirus has killed another 133 people, pushing the country’s death toll to 3,872 amid 62,589 confirmed cases.

Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has sought Israel’s destruction, pursuing a shadow war that over the last year has increasingly spilled out into the open. While both countries are battling COVID-19, the illness caused by the new virus, hostilities between them have not abated.