An Iranian plot to recruit and deploy Israeli citizens for terror attacks and other missions was uncovered by Shin Bet. the agency said on Thursday adding a warning that Iran was "Playing with fire has dangerous consequences".
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According to the Shin Bet, Israeli citizens were contacted through social media as well as casual job sites using women's profiles. They received requests on Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and X in several languages, including Arabic. The Iranians used fake identities and claimed to be realtors, drones salespersons, delivery carriers and more.
The recruited Israeli citizens were paid to perform various "tasks". These missions were not necessarily security-related, but they were meant to serve Iran and enrich its intelligence. Those tasks included acquiring photographs of places, finding out their addresses and more. According to the Shin Bet, some of the Israeli citizens who received such suspicious inquiries, avoided responding to them and even alerted security officials in Israel about them.
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Iranian security officials masquerade mostly as women to recruit Israelis for varied tasks
In one of the chats monitored and revealed by the Shin Bet, the Iranian operator, who identified as "Sofia", orders an Israeli to murder a person. The Iranian operator orders the Israeli to "do it with a gun". In another case, an Iranian operator who identified as "Adam" asked to point to various institutions in Israel - including Microsoft headquarters, Wix, Tel Aviv University and the Design Museum in Holon.
"Since the beginning of the war, it is evident that the Iranian efforts have greatly intensified. The cyberspace is being used for intimidation, conveying messages and promoting undercover terrorist acts," the Shin Bet said. " The Shin Bet even identified platforms that pretended to be Israeli and used the Israeli hostages in Gaza to gain traction. The Iranians also tried to recruit and act against families of hostages and bereaved families.
The Shin Bet announced that it was able to identify many fictitious profiles used by the Iranian security forces. The Shin Bet even posted a warning for Iran in Persian. "It's been a long time that we in the Shin Bet, through our unlimited control, have been closely following your empty efforts to maintain contact with Israeli citizens and to assign them with different tasks," said the Shin Bet spokesperson.
Shin Bet threatens Iran in Persian
(Video: Shin Bet)
"We inform you that during this period, we uncovered many of your objectives and thwarted your plots. We emphasize that all your activities against Israeli citizens, both Arabs and Jews, are under the strict control and supervision of the Shin Bet and will be neutralized and thwarted immediately. Finally, I warn you that playing with fire has serious and dangerous consequences and we advise you to save your life and the lives of your families. Do not interfere in matters that are not yours. Respectfully, the friends from the Shin Bet," he added.