An indictment was filed Friday morning at the Jerusalem District Court against a reserve soldier from Jerusalem who served in the military’s Iron Dome system, accusing him of passing sensitive information to Iranian operatives in exchange for payment.

The defendant, identified as Raz Cohen, faces a series of serious security-related charges, including allegations that he maintained direct contact with hostile foreign elements and provided intelligence connected to Israel’s air defense activity.

According to the indictment, Cohen was arrested at the outset of the war and interrogated by Lahav 433 in coordination with the Shin Bet. His detention was extended multiple times as investigators built their case, culminating in Friday’s formal charges by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities allege that Cohen knowingly engaged with Iranian handlers and transferred classified or sensitive operational information.

While officials have not publicly detailed the full extent of the intelligence allegedly shared—or the payments involved—it raises concerns about potential vulnerabilities inside one of Israel’s most advanced defense systems.

The case is the latest in an escalating Iranian effort to recruit insiders, including active and former members of the security establishment, for intelligence-gathering missions. In recent months, authorities have repeatedly warned that Iranian operatives are increasingly using financial incentives to lure recruits, often through covert or indirect channels.

A similar case surfaced last year. In January 2025, prosecutors filed an indictment in Haifa against IDF reservist Yuri Ilyaspov, 22, and his associate Georgy Andreev, 21, both from Kiryat Yam, accusing them of ties to an Iranian operative and carrying out tasks on Israel’s behalf.

Ilyaspov faced a sweeping list of charges, including aiding the enemy during wartime, aggravated espionage, and transmitting information to a foreign agent, alongside additional offenses such as forgery and destruction of evidence. Andreev was charged with contact with a foreign agent and related criminal offenses.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)