An IDF soldier was indicted on Thursday by the Military Prosecution over contact with Iranian agents, and for information he passed on to them in exchange for payment.
The information that the soldier released was not security-related, Israel Police and the Shin Bet noted. The two agencies, along with the Police Investigation Department, made the arrest following an investigation conducted with the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit.
From the investigation, authorities surmised that the soldier was aware that he was in contact with an Iranian agent. The charges against him are contact with a foreign agent and passing along information to the enemy.
He carried out acts at their instruction, including sending a video of missile interceptions and photos of missile strikes and fall sites across the country. During two weeks last month, Iran and Israel exchanged a volley of missiles, as Israel sought to strike key military and nuclear sites belonging to the Islamic Republic. Thirty people were killed in Israel, hundreds were injured, and the damage was extensive.
At the time, the military and police buckled down on real-time location sharing of the missile fall sites.
This was aimed at all citizens, but also particularly targeted foreign journalists, subjected to scrutinous checks by police, as new security directives granted officers on the ground extensive powers to seize equipment and remove the journalists from the site. A High Court of Justice hearing on the law that deals exactly with this issue took place last week.
Soldier did not possess any security clearance
The information he gave the Iranian agents did not come from any security clearance he had as a soldier, the agencies noted. His arrest was extended until Tuesday.
The soldier’s arrest wasn’t the first such kind on Thursday, either. Earlier in the day, an indictment was issued against a 33-year-old teacher from the Negev for carrying out acts at the instruction of Iranian agents in exchange for pay. Over 30 such cases have been tackled by authorities since October 7.