Israeli Who Served in Classified IDF Unit Charged With Spying for Iran

It was partially cleared for publication today (Thursday) that an Israeli citizen who served in both regular and reserve duty in a classified unit has been charged with spying for Iran. He is accused of attempting to provide information for the benefit of the enemy. A gag order remains in effect on the remaining details.

The Tel Aviv District Court and the prosecution allowed the following details to be published: "An investigation by the Arzim Major Crimes Unit (Lahav) of the Defense Ministry's security directorate and the Shin Bet found that the defendant was in contact with an individual who identified himself to him as an Iranian intelligence operative. At one point, the defendant was also asked to help recruit a soldier to establish contact with those individuals."

According to a source familiar with the details, quoted by Kan 11 News, this is one of the most serious cases uncovered within a sensitive and classified IDF unit. The severity of the case stems from the defendant's past access to sensitive information.

His attorney, Nati Rom, said: "This is an esoteric incident that involves, at most, carelessness. It is regrettable that a person who dedicated his life to the security of the state, at significant personal cost, now finds himself accused of security offenses and imprisoned as though he were a Nukhba terrorist. There is no claim whatsoever that my client acted from a negative motive, greed, or certainly any desire to harm the security of the state."

"This was an unsuccessful joke, nothing more. In my view, the facts do not establish the elements of the offenses attributed to my client, and we will prove that as the case proceeds and after we are exposed to the materials. The security establishment's desire to advance public awareness in order to protect information security, and to encourage caution in conversations with hostile actors, is understandable and even worthy of appreciation. At the same time, I regret that this is being done at the expense of devoted and caring citizens who did nothing wrong."