TEHRAN – Israeli media reported that a 23-year-old Israeli national living in Tuvaliyah has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran in exchange for money.
“Yosef Ain Eli, 23, is the latest Israeli to be charged with espionage since the start of the Gaza war, in which he is alleged to have received thousands of shekels to collect information on Iranian agents at a hotel, Israeli Defense Force soldiers, and senior officials,” Y Net News reported.
“He was arrested in September following a joint investigation by Shin Bet intelligence and the police’s Rahab 433 Serious Crimes Unit,” the report added. Iran has not confirmed this report.
In recent years, the Israeli regime has arrested an increasing number of people on suspicion of spying for Iran.
Earlier this year, Iran’s Information Minister Esmail Khatib noted that a “treasure trove” of information containing millions of pages of diverse and valuable data about the Israeli regime had been transferred to Iran.
“These documents contain complete information on the regime’s previous and current projects, retrofitting and reprocessing projects for old nuclear weapons, joint ventures with the United States and some European countries, as well as the management structure of nuclear weapons and anything related to nuclear weapons,” the Iranian minister said.
He reiterated that Israel’s nuclear and military establishment and the public cooperate with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and share large amounts of documents with Iran.
“The motivation behind this cooperation is two-fold: the first is the acquisition of material incentives and funds, and the second is hatred of the corrupt and criminal Israeli prime minister,” he explained.
Israel’s internal security agency (Shin Bet) reported a 400% increase in espionage cases identified in 2024 compared to the previous year. This number is expected to increase further in the first half of 2025, especially after the 12-day war with Iran. The report said Jewish residents of the occupied territories believed that Netanyahu dragged his regime into war with Iran without preparing the necessary defenses to shoot down Iranian missiles. During the gunfight, Iran caused massive destruction in Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Beersheba. General Rahim Safavi, an adviser to the Iranian leader, recently said that Israel’s defense systems had malfunctioned during the war.
Meanwhile, the administration launched a major advertising campaign in July urging Israelis to resist the “temptation” to spy on Iran, warning that the consequences far outweigh the financial rewards. This unusual action took place a month after the end of the 12-day war.
The campaign, titled “Easy Money, Heavy Cost”, was carried out on radio, major internet sites and social media platforms and was devised by the Shin Bet and the State Directorate General of Public Diplomacy.
One of the two 20-second videos shows the father having a meal with his family, while the second shows another man drinking with friends before a caption appears on the screen: “Is it worth ruining your life and family for 5,000 shekels?”
The 5,000 shekel figure clearly indicates the amount paid to Israelis allegedly collaborating with Iran.
The ad says those who stole Iranian cash are now in jail and warns that those who aid Iran face up to 15 years in prison. “Money is easy, expenses are heavy.”
Information Minister Khatib said in a video message that there are still large numbers of people in the occupied territories working with Iranian forces.