In recent years, Israel has faced an increasing number of espionage attempts orchestrated by Iranian intelligence services, ranging from social media manipulation to the recruitment of Israeli citizens.
Most recently, 30-year-old Vladislav Viktorson, from Ramat Gan, was detained for questioning in connection with alleged espionage activities conducted with his partner, Anna Bernstein. The investigation reveals that Viktorson was reportedly tasked with sabotaging communication infrastructure and ATMs, as well as setting forests ablaze, for a sum of approximately $5,000. Investigators claim Viktorson even agreed to carry out an assassination of a high-profile figure in Israel and to lob a grenade at a residence. The probe uncovered that since last August, Viktorson had been in contact via social media with an individual using the name "Mari Hossi." Their exchanges were conducted in Hebrew.
As part of this connection, Viktorson allegedly performed various tasks under the guidance of the Iranian operative, fully aware of their identity. These tasks included graffiti, poster hanging, money planting, and even torching vehicles in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park area.
Subsequently, Viktorson was reportedly instructed to sabotage communication infrastructure and ATMs, and to ignite forest fires. Some of these missions were documented, with payments exceeding $5,000 received for their execution. The investigation also suggests that Viktorson worked to procure weapons, including a sniper rifle, pistols, and fragmentation grenades.
Bernstein, an 18-year-old Ramat Gan resident, who works as a model, allegedly participated in some of the missions.
In a separate case, Moti Maman, a 72-year-old Ashkelon resident, was apprehended in August 2024 in a joint operation by the Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police. He faces serious espionage charges. The indictment reveals that Maman had a criminal history, including five previous convictions for various offenses such as extortion and tax evasion, with his most recent conviction in 2013. According to the charges, the Israeli-Jewish businessman, who had resided in Turkey for an extended period, was recruited by Iranian intelligence agents. He allegedly agreed – through Turkish intermediaries – to meet with an Iran-based businessman, ostensibly to promote business activities.
For this purpose, Maman traveled to Samangad, Turkey, where he met with two representatives sent on the businessman's behalf. The three held a phone conversation with the businessman, who was unable to leave Iran. The indictment charges Maman with offenses against state security, including contact with a foreign agent and entering an enemy state without authorization.
Similarly, last July, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police's Unit of International Crime Investigations, known in Hebrew by its acronym Yahbal, arrested three Israeli citizens. They were suspected of planting money-filled packages and hanging posters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents. The Shin Bet and Yahbal investigation exposed a network of Iranian intelligence operatives who, disguised as foreign entities, approached Israeli citizens to recruit and deploy them for missions within Israel. One of the citizens faces charges of contact with a foreign agent.
Elimelech Stern, a 21-year-old Vizhnitz Hassid from Beit Shemesh, was suspected of communicating with a Telegram profile named "ANNA ELENA". Iranian operatives allegedly tasked him with various missions, such as hanging posters in Tel Aviv, planting money at different locations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, setting a forest on fire, and delivering packages containing a severed animal head or doll (along with a knife and threatening message) to be placed at Israeli citizens' doorsteps. The investigation revealed that Stern agreed to most tasks, excluding murder and forest arson. To accomplish the poster hanging, money planting, and package deliveries, he recruited two other Israeli citizens, who carried out some of the missions for financial compensation. Stern received cryptocurrency payments from ANNA ELENA for completing the tasks.
In 2022, a complex case of Iranian attempts to recruit spies from among Iranian expatriates in Israel came to light. The operation used a fake Facebook account under the name "Rambod Namdar," posing as an Iranian Jew interested in immigrating to Israel. The account contacted dozens of people, mainly Jewish women of Iranian descent, building trust through lengthy conversations. Gradually, "Rambod" requested various tasks, including photographing Israeli sites and transferring money. In November 2021, five suspects were arrested and brought to trial in the Jerusalem District Court. The case shocked Israel's Persian community and exposed Iran's sophisticated methods for infiltrating Israeli systems. However, during the trial, most defendants were acquitted, with only one convicted of contact with a foreign agent.
In 2018, Gonen Segev, a former energy ministry, was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran. Segev, who served as a minister in Israel during the 1990s, was convicted of severe espionage and providing information to the enemy. Recruited by the Iranian embassy in Nigeria, he provided information on strategic facilities, the security system, and Israeli officials. Segev was ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison as part of a plea bargain. The Shin Bet stated that Segev, who resided in Nigeria, was transferred to Israel from Equatorial Guinea in May 2018 after being denied entry due to his criminal record. He was immediately arrested upon arrival in Israel. The investigation revealed that Segev had been recruited by Iranian intelligence in 2012, meeting his handlers in Iran and various locations worldwide. He passed information related to Israel's energy sector, security sites, and political and security officials. Segev also attempted to connect Israeli citizens to Iranian intelligence agents under the guise of business opportunities.
In 1997, Nahum Manbar, an Israeli businessman, was arrested on suspicion of maintaining connections with Iran. Manbar was convicted of aiding the enemy after selling secrets about nerve gas production to Iran.
And perhaps most shockingly, in November 2021, Omri Goren, an Israeli citizen employed at Defense Minister Benny Gantz's residence, was charged with espionage. The investigation revealed that Goren, on his own initiative, contacted a figure associated with Iran through social media shortly before his arrest. He offered assistance in various ways, leveraging his access to the minister's house. Among other things, he proposed to the representative of the Iranian-associated hacking group Black Shadow that he could plant malware on the minister's computer via a USB device in exchange for financial compensation.
