Israeli intelligence agency detained a 27-year-old man in Tel Aviv on suspicion of collaborating with Iran's intelligence services, allegedly in exchange for cryptocurrency payments to film various public locations, local media outlets reported on Monday.
Israel's Shin Bet security agency and police said an investigation into the suspect's communications and laptop devices revealed his alleged outreach to Iranian operatives via social media.
He initiated contact, Ynet and i24 news outlets cited security sources as saying, received assignments and was compensated financially in return.
The suspect who was detained last week, was instructed to film several public sites in the Tel Aviv area including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Avramovitch Park in the Bavli neighborhood, and the site of a recent missile impact in Ramat Gan, according to the agencies' statement.
The locations are primarily suburban and public spaces with no direct access to military or intelligence facilities, though Ramat Gan is a densely populated suburb east of Tel Aviv that has been targeted in recent rocket and missile attacks.
Ongoing cases
Israeli prosecutors on Sunday indicted a 23-year-old hotel worker from Tiberias on charges of spying for Iran, marking the latest in a string of espionage cases connected to Tehran over recent months.
This incident underscores a growing wave of espionage prosecutions linked to Iran, as Israeli security agencies have warned that Tehran has ramped up recruitment of Israeli citizens through social media platforms like Telegram—particularly since the onset of the Gaza war in 2023.
The case comes amid heightened tensions following the 12-Day War in June, a brief but intense direct conflict between Israel and Iran. In response, both Iran and Israel have escalated counter-intelligence measures.
