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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered legal proceedings to begin to revoke the citizenship of Israelis convicted of serious espionage on behalf of Iran, officials said, in what they described as an unprecedented move.
The directive, issued with the backing of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, instructs authorities to pursue revocation only after a final, binding conviction for severe espionage offenses linked to the Islamic Republic.
Netanyahu told a closed-door meeting that spying against Israel constituted “a fundamental breach of trust,” according to officials familiar with the discussion, Israeli media reported.
Under Israel’s Citizenship Law, nationality can be revoked for a breach of loyalty, including espionage or treason. The provision has rarely been used and was previously considered mainly in terrorism-related cases.
Officials said that in practical terms, individuals stripped of citizenship who hold no other nationality would retain permanent residency and could continue living in Israel, though they would lose civil rights such as voting.
Over the past two years, around 40 indictments have been filed against about 60 suspects accused of being recruited by Iran, according to officials. Israel’s Shin Bet security service has warned of a rise in Iranian efforts to recruit Israeli citizens, describing it as a growing national security threat.
An Iranian lawmaker said a letter attributed to Tehran’s provincial security council seeking medical documents for people wounded in the January protests is authentic, and described a dispute between government bodies over whether patient information should be shared.
Homayoun Sameh-Yah Najafabadi, a member of parliament’s health committee, said there is disagreement between the health ministry and the interior ministry on transmitting patients’ information.
He said the health ministry, in a confidential correspondence, opposed the Tehran security council’s request for medical records of those injured in the protests.
Branch 15 of Iran’s Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Abolghassem Salavati, has issued a death sentence for Mohammadamin Biglari, a 19-year-old detained during protests in Tehran, according to information shared with Iran International.
The case has been sent to Iran’s Supreme Court.
According to the information received, Biglari works at a men’s barbershop in Tehran and was arrested on January 8 while returning home from work.
The report said his mother has died and that authorities only informed his father of the arrest three weeks later, after he spent weeks searching for his son, including among bodies at Kahrizak morgue.
Iran’s armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi warned US President Donald Trump that any conflict with Iran would be lesson for him, and questioned Washington’s stated interest in negotiations.
“He will enter a battle that will serve as a lesson, the outcome of which will ensure he no longer blusters on the world stage.”
He also challenged Trump’s approach, asking why the US president talks about negotiations if he intends to pursue war.
An Iranian lawmaker dismissed a major rally in Munich as a staged “show,” despite Munich police estimating that about 250,000 people attended.
Morteza Mahmoudi, a Tehran MP, alleged that monarchist supporters had lured people from across Europe with “empty promises” and heavy spending, including travel and ticket costs, according to remarks carried by Iranian media.
He said the turnout was “very small” and alleged the crowd was inflated because it mixed with visitors attending a nearby pre-planned event, calling the global coverage of the rally “embarrassing.”
