Arrests over Iran spy plots in Israel surged 400% in 2024, Shin Bet reveals
The number of people arrested in Israel over Iranian spy plots have shot up by 400% in 2024 in the wake of the Gaza war, according to Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency.
The number of people arrested in Israel over Iranian spy plots have shot up by 400% in 2024 in the wake of the Gaza war, according to Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency.
“A record was recorded in the number of detainees involved in espionage-related affairs for the Iranians, when there was an increase of about 400% of the number of detainees from 2023,” a statement said.
“During the year, 13 serious espionage affairs by Israelis were exposed and thwarted for the Iranian intelligence agencies, and serious indictments were filed against 27 Israelis.”
It also detailed attempts to smuggle weapons along with attempts to recruit Israelis to carry out missions and cyber attacks on Israeli targets.
Asher Ben Artzi, the former head of Israel’s Interpol, told Iran International, "Personally, I can say that in the past, to find Israelis who would be willing to betray the country for the sake of money, was very rare, but unfortunately today this is not the case. Iranian intelligence has acted in a smart way and succeeded in locating such Israelis."
He said that in spite of the fact many such people have been assigned smaller tasks to begin with, that is only the beginning. "We must not take lightly the simplicity of the tasks assigned to them by the Iranian operators such as spraying graffiti or taking photographs. The future tasks are always more complex."
Lior Akerman, a former Brigadier General in Shin Bet now based at Reichman University, said Iran has changed the pattern of its operations in recent years, relying on digital means to reach possible candidates.
"Due to the impossibility of meeting Israelis and recruiting them abroad, they deploy a very wide network of searches on social networks using fake profiles," he said.
"They reach out to many thousands, from whom they find a few who are willing to carry out operations for money."
Just this week, a 29-year-old Israeli man was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran.
A joint statement from Israel’s security services and the police, said that Alexander Granovsky, from Petah Tikva, was arrested in December for his alleged involvement in a plot which had involved photographing the entrance to former defense minister Benny Gantz's residential neighborhood.
He is also accused of setting eight cars on fire around Israel and photographing a sensitive facility in the center of the country.
Granovsky had also sprayed "Children of Ruhollah” on various buildings, referring to Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.
The investigation also revealed that the man’s handlers discussed with him the possibility of obtaining a rifle and grenades to shoot at houses.
Like other cases this year, he had also been asked to gather information on the residential addresses of ministers in the Israeli government, and to set fire to a police car, a bus, and a truck, but Granovsky refused to carry out the tasks.
In September, another plot was foiled to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar.
The plot escalated following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, according to Shin Bet.
The Iranian scheme also included plans to target former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other senior Israeli defense figures, although the details have not been confirmed.
The operation sought to exploit an Israeli businessman with extensive ties to both Turkey and Iran, leveraging his financial networks to facilitate the assassination attempts within Israel.
Although such operations have been attempted by Iran for more than a decade, since the Gaza war, efforts have increased. Iran's military allies in both Gaza and the West Bank continue to act against Israel in addition to those outside Israel's borders in Lebanon and the wider Middle East.
