Israeli police arrest seven citizens accused of spying for Iran

A spy network allegedly gathering information on military bases and energy infrastructure for Iranian intelligence has been broken up, Israeli authorities say.

In a statement, Israel’s internal security agency and police said they “successfully dismantled a spy network involving seven Israeli citizens who were operating on behalf of Iranian intelligence”.

In a statement, Israel’s internal security agency and police alleged that the seven collected information about other Israelis and photographed Israeli military installations, including missile defence systems, air force and naval sites, and power plants.

Spies operating a network allegedly working for Iranian intelligence in Israel are reported to be immigrants from Azerbaijan, military analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera.

He said there is a “strong connection between Azerbaijan and Iran in borders but also a strong connection between Azerbaijan and Israel”.

“This is why this makes the Azeri very valuable for both sides where Azerbaijan provides oil to Israel and Israel provides weapons to Azerbaijan,” he said, adding: “This is what makes that community and diaspora extremely attractive” to Iranian intelligence services.

He said the fact that the spies were reported to have carried out 600 missions shows its members are considered “reliable” by Iranian intelligence.

Magnier added that it also represents “a failure” by the Israeli authorities to identify the network “only after two years”.