Seven East Jerusalem men have been arrested by Israeli security forces on suspicion of plotting to murder scientists and officials on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The suspects, aged between 17 and 23, from the neighbourhood of Beit Safafa in the eastern part of Jerusalem, were allegedly asked by Iran to kill a nuclear scientist and the mayor of a large city.
23-year-old Rami Alian admitted to the charges, stating during interrogations that he "felt proud that an Iranian approached him," according to Israel's Kan News public broadcaster.
The Iranian operator paid Alian and his co-conspirators for multiple espionage missions, including torching vehicles in Jerusalem, spray-painting anti-Israel graffiti and buying weapons and explosives.
The squad was also said to have received 15,000 shekels (£3,000) for an attempt to throw a grenade at the home of a member of Israel's security forces and 5,000 shekels (£1000) to take photos of a scientific institute.
As his last mission, Aliyan was asked to kill a "senior nuclear scientist" and the mayor of "one of the largest cities" in Israel's central region. He received photos, an address and other details of the scientist, and had plans to buy a Carlo-type improvised submachine gun to carry out the attack, for which he would receive 200,000 shekels (£40,000).
The seven suspects were captured by Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) forces and admitted to severe charges of espionage out of a desire to harm the Jewish state's security, Hebrew reports said.
On Monday, a prosecutor's statement was submitted ahead of a formal indictment against seven Israeli Jews who have been in custody since September on suspicion of serious espionage for the Islamic Republic in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, Israel Hayom reported.
The suspects were named as Aziz Nisanov, Alexander Sadikov, Yigal Nisan, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe and two minors—all immigrants from Azerbaijan who lived in the Haifa area.
They are expected to be charged with aiding the enemy during wartime—an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment—on Friday.
Last week, the Israel Police announced that Vladimir Verhovski, 35, a resident of Petah Tikvah in central Israel, was arrested for plotting to assassinate a prominent figure at the direction of Tehran. The suspect had allegedly agreed to murder an Israeli scientist in exchange for $100,000, and had already acquired a weapon to carry out the hit.
In August, authorities arrested a Jewish businessman on suspicion of having met with Iranians and assisting them in planning high-profile assassinations, including of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Moti Maman, 73, from the southern city of Ashkelon, visited the Islamic Republic twice in recent months, where he demanded $1 million as a down payment for a series of missions, according to the Shin Bet.
The arrest came as the Israel Security Agency revealed it had thwarted an attempt by Iranian-backed Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior security official. According to the Shin Bet, the attack involved an explosive device and was intended to be carried out imminently.
In September 2023, Hezbollah terrorists tried to assassinate former defense minister and Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon using a remotely detonated bomb in central Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park.
