Israel: soldier charged with spying for Iran for about a year, with base coordinates and photos of US tankers, paid in cryptocurrency

An Israeli soldier is being sent to trial because, according to the prosecuting authority, he spied for Iran for about a year. The charges were announced on Thursday, October 29, in a joint statement by the General Security Service (Shin Bet), the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson’s unit. The Jerusalem Post published details of the indictment. The allegations have not been tested in court.

The soldier was arrested in September in a joint operation of the Shin Bet, the investigations unit of the police’s Ayalon district, the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division and the Defence Ministry’s security services. He is charged with passing information to the enemy with intent to harm state security, providing information for the benefit of the enemy and contact with a foreign agent. A military court extended his detention until November 12, 2026.

What he allegedly passed on

Investigators say the soldier knew full well he was communicating with agents of Iranian intelligence. Over that period he allegedly provided details of his unit’s activity, the army’s operational readiness and emergency call-ups, including his own call-up at the outbreak of Operation “Roaring Lion”, as Israel calls the war with Iran. To his handler he allegedly sent locations and coordinates of military bases, as well as photographs of air-defence missiles, military vehicles and American aerial refuelling tankers parked at an Israeli airfield.

The indictment also describes an attempt to open the way for new recruitments. The soldier allegedly provided information on colleagues and commanders, knowing that the Iranian agent wanted to use it to approach others. He also gave his handler access to a Telegram group called “Kol Bakrav”, aimed at Israelis ready to enlist, and the Iranian joined the group.

Payment was made into cryptocurrency wallets, on the handler’s instructions. The Iranian agent asked him to install malicious encrypted-messaging apps, suggested he buy a basic mobile phone and a pistol, and the two agreed to speak in coded language and to have a cover story ready in case Israeli authorities caught them. At one point his handler offered him $200,000 to travel to Iran.

The three agencies call the case an extremely serious threat to national security. “We call on the public to exercise maximum vigilance. Any suspicious approach by an unknown person, request for information or offer of payment for ‘services’ must be reported to the security authorities,” they say. The case comes as Donald Trump weighs new strikes after the November 3 midterm elections.