Israeli security services have dismantled a spy group that collected information about Iranian intelligence in another attempt of Tehran to recruit Israelis for espionage, the domestic security agency Shin Bet and the police said in a joint statement today, Reuters reported.
Seven Israelis from northern Israel, including the port city of Haifa, were arrested after an investigation found they had been gathering intelligence on Israeli military bases and energy and port infrastructure, the statement said.
Israeli police said the security breach was among the most serious ever seen in Israel.
The suspects, including two minors, were tasked by two Iranian intelligence agents to complete hundreds of intelligence-gathering tasks on military bases across the country, the statement added.
Among the targets were a power plant in the northern city of Hadera, military bases mainly of the air force and navy, as well as batteries of Israel's "Iron Dome" air defense system. and ports.
The suspects received hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange, some of which were paid in cryptocurrency.