Two American Jews among those arrested for espionage in Iran following war

Three local Jews are also being held, while a few dozen were detained on suspicion of supporting Israel during Operation Rising Lion.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Two American Jews are among those arrested in Iran on suspicion of spying for Israel following Operation Rising Lion, Kan Reshet Bet reported Monday.

Both are Iranian and came to visit relatives before the war began. One, who lives in Los Angeles, was recently released on bail. The other, who has been living in New York for the past 30 years, remain in custody.

“They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said a source involved in the efforts to gain their freedom.

At least 35 local Jews from across the country were arrested immediately after the war ended amid a wave of detentions, as authorities try to identify people who helped Israel deal a major blow to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs through hundreds of airstrikes during the 12-day operation in June.

According to the Iranian government, those detained had written or “liked” posts against the regime — a far cry from actively assisting the IDF in bombing sensitive sites.

Most of the Jews have already been released, according to Homayoun Sameyah Najafabadi, the Jewish community’s symbolic representative in Iran’s parliament.

Najafabadi said that he had recently met with the president of the Revolutionary Guards Court in Tehran for two hours on the subject and, as a result, “the charge of espionage against all those detained in Tehran has been dismissed.”

Five Jews, including the New Yorker, are still being held, but the lawmaker was cautiously optimistic about their cases as well.

“We hope that as a result of continued cooperation, the remaining problems will be resolved soon,” he said.

Members of other minorities, such as Kurds, Azeris and those practicing the Baháʼí faith, who are all persecuted in Iran, have also been arrested on suspicion of collaboration with Israel.

Israel’s Mossad, the equivalent of the American CIA, unusually shared video footage online during the war of its operatives on the ground launching drones on key military sites to help clear a path for the Israeli fighter jets to strike Iran safely.

In addition, immediately after a ceasefire came into effect, Mossad director David Barnea delivered a public speech in which he revealed that “hundreds” of agents were embedded in the Islamic Republic during the height of the operations.

He vowed that the agency would maintain a long-term operational presence inside the country as well, in order to protect Israel from any future attempted attacks.