Jerusalem:
Israeli police said Thursday they had arrested an Israeli couple on suspicion of spying for Iran, barely a week after two gangs allegedly working for Tehran were detained.
“Iran’s efforts to recruit Israelis continue to be thwarted,” the police and Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet said in a statement.
The statement alleged that two Israelis, a couple from the central city of Lod, “were involved in gathering intelligence to track down national infrastructure, security sites and a female academic.”
“Rafael and Lala Golif…residents of Lod, were arrested after they acted on behalf of an Iranian cell that recruited Israelis from the Caucasus countries into Israel.”
Police allege the couple was recruited by Ilshan (Ilhan) Agayev, an Azerbaijani citizen working on behalf of Iranian authorities. It was not clear whether Agayev lives in Israel.
They allege that Golev monitored sensitive sites in Israel, including the headquarters of Israel’s spy agency Mossad, and gathered intelligence from an academic working at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Thursday’s announcement comes a week after Israeli security services busted two other suspected espionage rings.
On October 22, Israeli police said they had arrested a group of seven Palestinians in East Jerusalem, bordering Israel, on suspicion of planning attacks for Iran.
A day earlier, police said they had arrested seven Israeli citizens in the city of Haifa on suspicion of carrying out hundreds of espionage missions at the behest of Iran.
Last week, two other Israelis were charged with various crimes after they were allegedly approached by Iranian agents and asked to carry out espionage missions.
In September, an Israeli identified as Mordechai Maman from the coastal city of Ashkelon was arrested on suspicion of being recruited by Iran to plot the assassination of top officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. .
Israel is currently engaged in a multi-front conflict with Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
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