Israel’s Shin Bet security service has arrested five Jewish Israelis who are being accused of helping an Iranian agent gather information and make connections in Israel, despite some of the accused having known that he was working for Iran.

The four women and one man arrested by the Shin Bet are all either immigrants from Iran or the descendants of Iranian immigrants, the Times of Israel reports.

The Shin Bet said that the suspects snapped photographs of strategic sites in Israel, including the US Consulate in Tel Aviv, provided information about security arrangements at various sites in Israel, attempted to forge relationships with politicians, among other offenses – all done at the direction of an Iranian intelligence officer named Rambod Namdar.

Additionally, two of the suspects arrested by the Shin Bet attempted to convince their sons to join an IDF Military Intelligence Unit, presumably to have them provide further information that would be useful to the Iranians.

The five were reportedly paid thousands of dollars in exchange for the information they provided.

In response to the arrests, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged Israeli citizens to be vigilant about such spying attempts.

“It may be that the people behind the information you consume or share on the networks are Iranians,” Bennett said. “There can be no doubt – the long arm of the defense establishment will reach anyone who tries to harm Israel’s security.”

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