Iran-linked east Jerusalem spy ring arrested in plot to assassinate top Israeli nuclear scientist

Police arrested seven residents of east Jerusalem on suspicion of spying for Iran on Tuesday.

These arrests follow arrests made on Monday morning. The seven were already detained in September by Jerusalem police in cooperation with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), all of them having no prior criminal or security records.

According to reports, the seven were between the ages of 17 and 23 from east Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood.

The primary suspect, Rami Alyan, allegedly made contact with Iranian entities and then recruited six others to aid him in carrying out terrorist acts.

He confessed to conspiring to carry out terrorist activities motivated by nationalism and that he believed that contact with the Iranians would enhance his influence in Arab society.

Maariv reported that the prosecution is expected to file an indictment against key figures this coming Wednesday, with charges expected to be aiding the enemy during wartime and conspiracy to commit terrorist offenses.

The Iranian agent gave these suspects “test” missions for which they were paid, and these tasks included setting fire to vehicles, graffiti, and buying grenades and ammunition. They also attempted to damage police vehicles. KAN noted that these suspects were asked to research details about one of Israel’s mayors in central Israel.

According to reports, the suspects operated with the Iranian contact based on an agreed-upon “price list.”

Assassinating one of Israel’s top nuclear scientists would amount to NIS 200,000, while photographing the scientists’ institute would be paid up to NIS 500.

The suspects received approximately NIS 15,000 to purchase a gun and a submachine gun. Setting fire to vehicles would grant suspects up to NIS 2,000 shekels per vehicle, Israeli media wrote.

Previous arrests made 

This amounts to an additional seven suspects arrested, following reports from Monday that seven individuals were arrested on suspicion of espionage for Iran, as was confirmed by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet. 

Prosecutors allege that the suspects completed some 600 missions for Iran, including gathering intelligence on sensitive military and infrastructure sites and identifying potential human targets for the Islamic Republic.

Notable sites involved in their alleged espionage included Ramat David Airbase, Nevatim Airbase, Glilot, and the Golani Brigade base, where four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone attack last week.

The seven suspects, Jewish Israelis of Azeri [Azerbaijani] origin from Haifa and Haifa’s bayside suburbs, some of whom are relatives and one of whom is an AWOL soldier, have been in custody for around 35 days. Two are minors, according to police.

Jacob Laznik, Eve Young, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.