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Israeli couple arrested for spying, assassination plot for Iran, says Shin Bet

October 31, 2024 at 2:32 pm

Israeli soldiers and a woman walk past a damaged vehicle in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel, on October 2, 2024 in Tel Aviv. [JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images]

An Israeli couple from the city of Lod has been detained on suspicion of conducting espionage for Iran, according to statements from the internal security agency, Shin Bet. This case is the latest in a series of alleged Iranian-linked espionage incidents exposed in recent weeks.

Israeli authorities report that one member of the couple was directed by Iranian contacts to locate an assassin, reported the Times of Israel.

Rafael and Lala Guliyev, both 32 years old, are accused of gathering intelligence on security and national infrastructure sites, and of monitoring an academic at a security think tank with the intent to harm her.

Moreover, according to the Times of Israel, the couple has been recruited through an Iranian intelligence network that targets Israeli citizens from immigrant communities with roots in the Caucasus region, through an Israeli contact of Azerbaijani descent.

Israeli security officials claim that Rafael Guliyev conducted surveillance on security sites including Mossad headquarters, and gathered information about an academic affiliated with the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). His wife also assisted him on several of these intelligence missions.

A Shin Bet official told the Times of Israel that the case highlights “once again the efforts of the Iranian intelligence agencies to recruit and exploit Israeli citizens in order to promote espionage and terrorist activity in Israel.”

In response, INSS released a statement expressing the institute’s “profound gratitude to the Shin Bet security agency for preventing the planned operation against our staff member.”

In September, Israel’s security services arrested an Israeli citizen on suspicion of involvement in an Iranian-backed assassination plot against prominent people, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel has a long history of intelligence operations in Iran, allegedly including the assassination in July of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian group, Hamas, in a Tehran state guesthouse. Israel has made no claim of responsibility for that killing.

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