In a joint operation at the end of April, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 unit arrested two Israeli citizens on suspicion of perpetrating security-related offenses on behalf of Iranian operatives, according to a statement released by police on Tuesday.
Investigators allege that during 2025, Roi Mizrahi established contact with Iranian agents and undertook a series of sensitive tasks under their direction, some of them in coordination with the second suspect, Almog Atias. The activities focused on the town of Kfar Ahim, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz resides. Both suspects are 25 years old.
Both suspects were aware they were being handled by hostile foreign actors and that their actions posed a threat to national security, according to the Shin Bet. Neither is thought to have been previously involved with criminal activities; as both were deeply in debt, financial gain is believed to be the likely motivation.
Among the tasks attributed to Mizrahi was purchasing a camera that transmitted real-time video and installing it at crowded checkpoints in Haifa. He was subsequently expected to transfer control of the cameras to his operators. In one particularly alarming instance, Mizrahi was allegedly instructed to dig up a buried bag—believed to contain an explosive device—and transfer it from one location to another. Authorities say he followed the orders precisely.
The Shin Bet emphasized that the case highlights ongoing efforts by Iranian intelligence to exploit Israeli civilians via digital channels for espionage and terrorism.
The Central District Prosecutor’s Office is expected to file serious charges against both suspects in the coming days. Authorities continue to urge the public to report suspicious contacts or offers involving mysterious tasks or unexplained compensation.
This incident also marks the second time in as many days that Israel’s security service has released information about Iranian operatives targeting young Israelis to carry out espionage activities on the Islamic Republic’s behalf.
On Monday, it was reported that an 18-year-old Israeli from the central city of Yavne was arrested on suspicion of accepting Iranian orders to collect intelligence on the security detail of former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett during his recent hospital treatment.
