The Shin Bet and Israel Police uncovered a serious espionage case in recent months in which an Israeli transferred sensitive security information to Iran, the Shin Bet announced on Sunday.

In October 2025, Shimon Azarzar, 27, and his partner, both Israeli citizens from Kiryat Yam, were arrested for allegedly maintaining contact with Iranian intelligence officials and transferring sensitive information about Israeli security sites.

The Shin Bet and police investigation revealed that Azarzar maintained ongoing contacts with Iranian intelligence officials for over a year and carried out numerous security missions at their instruction.

He transferred photos, locations, and data on sensitive sites across the country and even offered to transfer vital information from inside IDF bases to his handlers. Azarzar exploited his relationship with his partner, who served as a reservist at an Air Force base, to obtain details about the IDF and Air Force bases.

The indictment, filed against him on Sunday morning at the Haifa District Court, stated that Azarzar, who was in financial difficulties, made contact with Iranian foreign agents operating on Telegram. They offered him money in exchange for classified information and carrying out various espionage tasks.

The defendant asked his partner, a female soldier who served in the Air Force, both in regular service and later in reserve duty, to help him. He exploited their shared access to her personal cloud to extract classified documentation from the Ramat David Air Force Base—including photos of control rooms, operational command systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and encrypted communication data.

The defendant transferred part of the information and photos to the Iranian agents, knowing that these were details that could aid the enemy and harm state security.

The indictment further states that the defendant gave the Iranian agents full personal details of an active Israeli police officer, offered to carry out additional missions in Israel for payment, and even discussed with them the possibility of leaving Israel illegally and reaching Iran with his family.

During this connection, the defendant received various payments from the Iranian agents in cryptocurrency, amounting to thousands of shekels, and continued to maintain ongoing communication with them for many months—until his arrest.

In the request for detention until the end of proceedings, the prosecution noted, “Over the course of a year, during which the State of Israel has been at war and in a severe emergency, the defendant maintained ties with Iranian agents and even did so during direct confrontations with Iran and especially during Operation ‘Am Kalavi.’ The defendant passed on information from within Israel to Iranian agents, including sensitive information he knew from a reservist soldier at the Air Force base. The information transferred could have been of use to hostile elements, and some was even passed intentionally to harm state security—and in return the defendant received payment.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)