Israel’s Shin Bet security service says it has disrupted an Iranian espionage network that aimed to recruit Israeli civilians for intelligence gathering and potential terror attacks.

The network operated through social media and employment websites, contacting Israelis in Hebrew, English, and Arabic. Posing as salespeople or real estate agents, and in some cases even engaging in online dating, the operatives sought to ensnare unsuspecting Israelis.

One of the tactics employed by the network involved reaching out to families of fallen Israeli soldiers and citizens taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. These Israelis were then covertly assigned reconnaissance missions, such as collecting information on specific addresses and photographing strategic sites. These tasks, according to the Shin Bet, were presented in a seemingly innocent manner to disguise their true intent.

The Shin Bet also lauded the vigilance of some Israelis who, upon receiving these dubious inquiries, refrained from responding and promptly reported them to security officials.

Additionally, a report by Iran International, a London-based news outlet, revealed that in the city of Mashad, Iran, a group of Hebrew-speaking women was allegedly trained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to engage in similar espionage activities. They reportedly contacted Israeli soldiers on social media, using explicit content as a means to extract information. The report indicated that about 22 different fake profiles were created for this operation, using real photos and videos.

This tactic mirrors methods previously employed by Hamas, which has historically used similar strategies to target Israeli soldiers for intelligence purposes. In 2022, the IDF identified and neutralized a Hamas network that had been posing as young women on social networks to ensnare IDF soldiers.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)