Shin Bet reveals an "Iranian plot" to recruit Israelis to spy

The Israeli Shin Bet announced that it had exposed what it called an Iranian plot to recruit Israelis for the purpose of gathering intelligence and even to launch attacks against Israeli targets.

The Shin Bet security service said Monday that it had uncovered what it called an Iranian plot to recruit Israelis for the purpose of gathering intelligence and even to launch attacks against Israeli targets.

The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the "Shin Bet", the internal intelligence service, as saying that "the Iranians used a personal file on Facebook in the name of Sarah Bobby, on the grounds that she is a young Jewish woman with links and business relations in Israel."

"Thousands joined the page within a short period of time, most of them from Israel," he added.

The Shin Bet added, "After making the initial contact on Facebook, the communications are then transferred to WhatsApp."

The Shin Bet considered that "communication through social media is among the well-known methods used by terrorist groups and Iranian intelligence to recruit Israelis and push them to act."

"In recent months, increased efforts have been made to contact Israelis via the Internet, using false cover in order to gather intelligence and carry out terrorist attacks," he said.

And the Israeli intelligence service indicated that it "has been monitoring the Iranian site since the beginning."

He said, "The Iranian official contacted a friend in Israel, without realizing that he was talking to the Shin Bet, and asked him to identify the Israelis who might be of interest to Iranian intelligence."

He stated that the Iranian spokesman "requested information about public figures in Israel and inquired about his friend's willingness to harm them, while promising to pay large sums."

He explained that "the Iranian client transfers funds in digital currencies under the cover of commercial reasons."

"The Iranian tried to urge his Israeli friend to put up anti-Russian and anti-Putin billboards, after Russia invaded Ukraine, with the aim of weakening Israeli-Russian relations," he said.

He added, "He also tried to collect information and harm representatives of Arab commercial companies and diplomats working in Israel."

The Shin Bet considered that "these efforts revealed Iranian methods as well as their desire to harm the Israelis and Israel's relations with other countries."

The Shin Bet has previously announced several similar Iranian attempts in the past, and Iran has not officially commented on the Israeli report.