Israel has arrested a 65-year-old Iranian spy who had been carrying out surveillance and photography missions for Iran at infrastructure and security sites in Israel. The man, identified as Eduard Yusupov, was indicted on Monday.
According to a statement from the Shin Bet and Israel police, Yusupov had been carrying out surveillance activities since last October, according to Ynet News.
It all began when Yusupov was approached by a man who identified himself as an Azerbaijani living in Dubai. He was tasked with photographing sensitive locations, including military bases, the Negev Nuclear Research Center, Haifa port and the Haifa oil refineries.
As per the directions of his handlers, Yusupov rented an apartment in Haifa overlooking the Port and had been carrying out his operations. The Shin Bet said Yusupov had suspicions that he was working for a hostile nation but continued to follow the instructions given to him by his handlers, who were Iranian intelligence agents.
His payments came in the form of cryptocurrency, which amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. This was done to maintain secrecy.
This isn't the first case of Israelis being roped in for spying. Last month, a 29-year-old was arrested after he got in touch with Iranian operatives to sell them information. Dorov Bokobza claimed that he had access to the Negev Nuclear Research Centre. Israel had charged with contact with a foreign agent and providing information to the enemy.
Another 73-year-old Israeli, Moti Maman, was imprisoned recently for spying for Iran and plotting to assassinate Israeli leaders, including the country’s PM and defence chief.
Israel claims that Iran has a recurrent pattern of using agents of Azeri origin who target Israeli citizens of Caucasian origin. According to Israeli intelligence analyst Ronen Solomon, this shows how Iranian operatives use people from other countries to target weaker elements of Israeli society. "Both in Israel and when travelling abroad, don't think that Iranian intelligence only speaks Persian. They may sit next to you in a hotel or casino and chat in your language as well," he wrote in X.
