Israel breaks up suspected Iranian spy ring targeting infrastructure and figures
Shafaq News/
Israeli security forces dismantled a suspected espionage ring allegedly working
for Iranian intelligence, the Shin Bet and police announced Thursday.
The latest
in a series of espionage cases linked to Iran, this incident involves an
Israeli couple from Lod, near Tel Aviv, accused of spying on key infrastructure
and monitoring prominent Israeli figures.
Rafael and
Lala Guliyev, both 32, reportedly gathered intelligence on infrastructure sites
including Haifa Port, Israel Electric Corporation facilities, and a water
pumping station in Hadera. They also allegedly monitored the Moldovan consulate
in Tel Aviv, public bomb shelters, and memorial sites for victims of Hamas’s
October 7 massacre. Authorities said the couple photographed posters of
Gaza-held hostages displayed near Tel Aviv's Kirya military base.
In their
joint statement, the Shin Bet and police stated that the Guliyevs’ activities
“represent part of a larger Iranian espionage network aimed at Israeli
immigrants from the Caucasus region.”
The Times of
Israel quoted a Shin Bet official as describing the findings as “further
evidence of Iranian intelligence agencies' efforts to recruit and exploit
Israeli citizens for espionage and terrorist activity.”
In a related
case, prosecutors recently charged Asher Binyamin Weiss of Bnei Brak with
aiding an alleged Iranian plot targeting an Israeli nuclear scientist. Weiss is
accused of following the scientist as part of an Iranian assassination plan
disrupted when another Iranian-linked cell was exposed.
The charge
sheet alleges that the Guliyevs received $26,000 from Iranian sources for their
activities.
Iran has not
commented on these latest allegations.
