New and disturbing details have emerged about the most severe espionage case ever recorded in Israeli history.

The seven suspects are immigrants from Azerbaijan, including a father and son, who gained Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return and through other ways that are still under investigation. The suspects were involved, among other things, in photographing military bases that were targeted in the ballistic missile attack from Iran on October 1. They also photographed the Golani training base where a Hezbollah drone recently struck and killed four IDF soldiers.

Lt. Colonel Yaron Benjamin, the head of the security division at Lahav 433, said, “This is one of the most serious security events ever investigated here. There is a very high likelihood that the main charge will be aiding the enemy in wartime, which carries a penalty of death or life imprisonment. The investigation lasted 35 days and ended with arrests on September 19.”

According to Benjamin, Iran launched numerous missiles in its October 1 attack at targets that the suspects had collected information on. The suspects were sent to photograph each site the Iranians wanted to target. Following the first Iranian attack in April, the suspects were sent to assess the extent of the damage and how accurately the missiles hit their targets to enable the Iranians to improve their tactics for future attacks.

“There was a systematic approach here,” he said. “They collected dozens of documents detailing exactly which facility to photograph, what information to gather, and how much money they would earn from it—essentially a detailed price list. The modus operandi was to receive a mission—photograph a base, travel there, unload, and search for a vantage point to photograph the base, and finally transfer everything via encrypted software to the Iranians.”

Unlike other cases, this espionage case lasted about two years.  “Two years ago, they received simple missions and then it gradually increased,” Benjamin said. “This is an exceptional event by any measure. I’m not aware of a terror cell that operated so systematically for such a long period. It seems we have too many such people in the country, and it’s very troubling.”

The suspects were aware that the information they transferred to the agents endangered state security and, in some cases, could even aid the enemy in carrying out a missile attack.

As part of the operation, the suspects conducted hundreds of information-gathering missions on IDF bases across the country, focusing on Air Force and Navy bases, ports, Iron Dome sites, and energy infrastructure areas, including the power station in Hadera.  The suspects used advanced and specialized equipment that they purchased in advance to carry out the tasks and were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for their missions.

“We clearly understood that they were thirsty for missions because they were thirsty for money. They asked each other, ‘When is the next mission?’ Sometimes they performed three or four missions a day,” Binyamin said.

In their investigation, the seven said they “became addicted to the money paid to them” totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars transferred to them in cryptocurrency, and several times through Russian couriers who came to Israel and held meetings with the suspects.

The investigation also revealed that the suspects were asked to gather information about several Israeli citizens at the request of Iranian agents.

Three of the seven were caught red-handed while they were near the home of the commander of the Nevatim base in southern Israel, on a mission to monitor him and his son. “This was the mission that led to the decision to reveal the investigation because we didn’t want to take the risk of harming human lives,” Benjamin said. “They were directed by the Iranians on which day and at what time to photograph the home of the Nevatim commander. This was supposed to happen at the time his son was expected to leave the house.”

A senior official from the Shin Bet stated: “As part of the investigation, numerous materials were seized that the suspects collected and transferred to Iranian agents, including photos and videos of many IDF bases across the country, ports, and energy infrastructure in Israel, all while Israel is engaged in conflict on multiple fronts. It is assessed that the activities of the suspects harmed the State’s security.”

Israel Police stated: “In the course of the overt investigation, the severity and scope of the incidents were revealed, which are among the most serious Israel has known. The suspects acted with knowledge of their actions and out of greed for money, harming the state of Israel and its citizens.”

It should be noted that the Iranians don’t contact Israelis directly, instead recruiting and directing them through intermediaries. In this case, too, the Iranians used a Turkish intermediary named “Al Hassan,” who had already activated Israelis for short espionage missions in the past. Arrests related to the case have recently been made in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)