Cases that are increasing. Israeli police announced on Thursday, October 31, the arrest of an Israeli couple accused of spying for Iran, the latest in a series of espionage arrests in a few weeks.
“We continue to thwart Iran’s efforts to recruit Israelis,” the police and the Shin Bet, the internal security service, said in a joint statement.
Rafael and Lala Goliev, residents of Lod (center), are suspected of having collected sensitive information on “national infrastructure and security sites and of having followed a professor at a research institute,” according to the statement.
They operated “on behalf of an Iranian cell that recruits Israelis from Caucasus countries in Israel,” authorities explained.
Sensitive sites
The couple would have been recruited by Elshan (or Elhan) Agayev, a citizen of Azerbaijan who acts for the benefit of Iran, according to the same sources, who do not specify whether the recruiter is based in Israel.
Among the targets under surveillance are sensitive sites, the headquarters of the Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence) and an analyst from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
Last week, Israeli authorities announced the dismantling of two cells of alleged spies acting for Tehran.
On October 22, seven Palestinians from the Beit Safafa neighborhood, in East Jerusalem occupied and annexed by Israel, were arrested.
“These individuals, under Iranian direction, planned to assassinate a high-level Israeli scientist and the mayor of a major Israeli city,” according to a statement.
Multiple arrests
The day before, five Israeli adults and two minors were arrested for “causing damage to security” after collecting information on behalf of Iranian agents.
The week before, two other Israelis were accused of spying for Tehran, and in September, Israel announced the arrest of a businessman, Mordechai Maman, accused of conspiring with Iran to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has been involved in a conflict with Iran and its regional proxy since the start of the war in Gaza against Hamas on October 7, 2023. In addition to Hamas, it faces Lebanese Hezbollah on its northern border.
Israeli aircraft also launched a raid against military targets in Iran on October 26 in retaliation for a salvo of some 200 missiles launched by Tehran against Israel on October 1.
Source: BFM TV
