A foreign national from Tajikistan holding a Russian passport was arrested by the Shin Bet and the Defense Ministry's security authority on suspicion of espionage for Iran. He allegedly documented missile impact sites, provided coordinates of Tel Aviv's Azrieli Towers, photographed Haifa Port, and attempted to photograph a sensitive security facility in northern Israel during Operation Roaring Lion. An indictment is expected to be filed soon.
At 10:46 Thursday, Israeli authorities announced that a foreign national from Tajikistan holding a Russian passport was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran during Operation Roaring Lion, and that he allegedly documented missile impact sites, provided coordinates of Tel Aviv's Azrieli Towers, photographed Haifa Port, and attempted to photograph a sensitive security facility in northern Israel. The announcement, from the Shin Bet and the Defense Ministry's security authority, stated that an indictment is expected to be filed in the coming days.
The development follows a series of related reports by The Zioneer. At 10:46 Thursday, the desk reported that prosecutors are preparing to indict Behrouz Sobirgon, a Tajik-Russian national, for similar espionage activities on behalf of Iran during the war. Multiple prior versions of that thread — all published at 10:46 Jerusalem — documented the filing of a prosecutor's statement against Sobirgon and the details of his alleged recruitment of additional agents for Iranian intelligence. The thread's coverage evolved from an initial unconfirmed report to a joint police, Shin Bet, and Defense Ministry statement.
As The Zioneer has reported in recent weeks, this arrest is part of a broader pattern. On Tue Jun 9, the desk reported that Raanan Ohana of Haifa was charged with performing security tasks for Iranian intelligence, including photographing sensitive areas during Operation Roaring Lion in exchange for cryptocurrency. On the same day, the desk reported that Nissan Aviv of Bat Yam was indicted for relaying information about missile impact sites and infrastructure vulnerabilities to an Iranian handler. On Tue Jun 30, the desk reported that an American yeshiva student was arrested for alleged espionage for Iran involving photographing sensitive sites for payments.
It remains unclear whether the suspect named Thursday afternoon is the same individual previously identified as Behrouz Sobirgon or a separate arrest. The Shin Bet has not released the suspect's identity in the new announcement.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake