Two Jewish Israelis were arrested for allegedly spying for Iran, including installing cameras near the home of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, the Shin Bet and Israel Police announced on Tuesday in a joint statement.

Roi Mizrachi and his friend Almog Attias, both 24 and residents of the northern city of Nesher, were arrested at the end of April 2025, on suspicion of committing security offenses after being suspected of collecting intelligence in the Kfar Achim moshav, where Katz resides.

The investigation by the Shin Bet and the police revealed that Roi was in contact with Iranian terrorist elements and carried out a large number of various security tasks for them, some of them together with his friend Almog. Both suspects carried out the acts for financial compensation despite the fact that they understood that they were acting under Iranian direction and that their actions could harm state security.

Among other things, Roi purchased a new cell phone and installed an app on it to communicate with his operators. Later, he was asked by his operators to transfer a package buried in the ground from one point to another, which, in his understanding, contained an explosive device. Despite the danger of doing so, he carried out the transfer of the package according to the instructions of his operators.

A serious indictment will be filed against the two men in the coming days.

According to the joint statement, 20 cases of espionage by Israelis for Iran have been thwarted since the beginning of the war.

A security source stated: “This case joins a series of cases from the recent period that indicate repeated efforts by hostile terrorist and intelligence elements to recruit Israeli citizens to carry out missions designed to harm the security of the State of Israel and its residents.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)