It has been revealed that a collaborative operation between the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police Lahav 433 investigative division has uncovered an Iranian spy network attempting to recruit and direct Israeli citizens. As part of this probe, police detained Vladislav Victorson, a 30-year-old resident of Ramat Gan.

The joint investigation revealed that, starting in August of last year, Victorson had been communicating through social media with a figure identified as “Mari Hossi.” The exchanges took place in Hebrew.

Throughout their contact, Victorson, fully aware that he was interacting with an Iranian intelligence agent, carried out a series of tasks as per the agent’s directives. These included graffiti tagging, putting up posters, stashing money, and even setting fire to vehicles near Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Later on, he was instructed to damage communication networks, target ATMs, and ignite forest fires.

Some of these activities were recorded, and Victorson was compensated over $5,000 for his efforts. The investigation also uncovered that Victorson agreed to assassinate an Israeli public figure and throw a grenade at a residence. Following these orders, he sought out weapons, including a sniper rifle and hand grenades.

In executing these tasks, Vladislav recruited two other individuals, one of whom was his 18-year-old partner, Anna Bernstein, also from Ramat Gan. She took part in several of the tasks. He was additionally asked to recruit homeless individuals to help with other assignments and to film demonstrators at protests.

On Monday, the suspects involved were formally charged with security offenses.

The ISA highlighted that “social media platforms are often used by Iranian intelligence agencies as tools to recruit Israelis for various tasks. While at first, these missions may seem harmless, they can escalate into serious threats to national security. Messages were sent in multiple languages, including Hebrew and English, through platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, and some citizens responded in exchange for money. It’s important to note that many Israelis who received such suspicious messages chose not to respond and reported them to the authorities.”

An ISA official stated: “In recent months, the ISA and police have uncovered several Iranian intelligence cells focused on recruiting Israelis for missions that could ultimately lead to an attack on Israeli individuals. Numerous fake social media profiles, managed by Iranian operatives, were identified online, and details about these agents were gathered. The exposure of these activities resulted in the arrest and questioning of Israelis who were lured into performing these tasks. This case once again sheds light on Iran’s continuous attempts to exploit Israelis for espionage and terrorist purposes against the state of Israel.”

{Matzav.com Israel}