The IDF military prosecution indicted two soldiers serving as the Israeli Air Force as F-15 fighter jet technicians on suspicion of spying for Iran, authorities said on Thursday.
If the allegations prove true, the case would point to an uncommon achievement for Iranian intelligence, suggesting a capability of recruiting operatives with access to sensitive military information, something that other Iranian assets who had been exposed recently seemed to lack.
The two servicemen were arrested last month and one of them was charged with aiding the enemy in wartime, passing information to the enemy, assisting contact with a foreign agent and other offenses. The second soldier was charged with contact with a foreign agent, passing information to the enemy and other offenses, according to the statement.
The servicemen’s Iranian handlers gave them assignments but they declined to carry out some that involved weapons, the servicemen told interrogators, according to the police statement. The handlers, who had been in contact with the servicemen for several months, broke off communications after the refusal, they said. The servicemen tried to reestablish contact after that, for financial gain, the police also said.
The servicemen were identified and arrested as part of a joint operation by the Shin Bet security agency, Israel Police, the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division and the IDF Information Security Department, the Israel Police said in the statement.
Iran has in recent months stepped up efforts to recruit Israeli agents as part of its broader intelligence campaign against the Jewish state, relying heavily on online outreach and low-cost, high-volume tactics. Israeli authorities have said that Iranian handlers typically make initial contact through social media or messaging platforms, offering money—often via cryptocurrency—in exchange for seemingly minor tasks that can escalate into photographing sensitive sites, gathering military information or even plotting attacks.
Previous exposed cases involved random agents who did not appear to have access to classified information or sites.
