Ashkelon Couple Charged With Gathering Intelligence for Iran in Exchange for Payment

Prosecutors today (Thursday) filed an indictment in the Tel Aviv District Court against 26-year-old Tamirlan Amshukov and 24-year-old Elina Kushnirenko, a couple from Ashkelon accused of espionage offenses. According to the allegations, they acted on behalf of an Iranian intelligence operative and provided information about sites and people in Israel in exchange for payment.

According to the indictment, between April and July 2026, the two were in contact with an Iranian foreign agent, during which they carried out a series of security-related assignments at his direction. The investigation found that Amshukov was in direct contact with the agent and carried out various assignments for him, receiving sums of money, including through digital currencies. It is further alleged that some of the assignments were carried out jointly with Kushnirenko.

According to the charges, the two systematically gathered intelligence on various targets across the country, including the residences of security personnel, civilian and military infrastructure, and other sensitive sites. They passed the information they collected to the Iranian agent, with some of the payments they received transferred in cryptocurrency.

Among other things, the two allegedly documented an employee at a defense plant and a member of the security forces. They also carried out photography assignments at the Port of Eilat and in the Mount Herzl area of Jerusalem, including the museum and cemetery on the mount.

A joint investigation by the National Unit for International Investigations (Yahbal) within Lahav 433 and the Shin Bet found that during his contact with the foreign agent, Amshukov was instructed to travel to Eilat and purchase an advanced cellphone with especially high-quality photography capabilities. To buy the device, according to investigative authorities, he was given thousands of shekels so that he could carry out "high-quality photography assignments under the direction of and for the foreign agent."

The investigation further found that Amshukov continued carrying out the assignments even after he understood, according to the indictment, that he was working for an Iranian intelligence operative. Among other things, "Amshukov carried out photography assignments in sensitive areas such as the Port of Eilat, photographing a museum and the cemetery on Mount Herzl."