Rafael Guliyev, 32, made aliyah to Israel with his family from Azerbaijan at age 7. During one of his visits to his homeland, he met Lala, 29, who joined him in Israel six months ago. The two married and now live together in Lod. The couple was caught at a hotel in Tel Aviv while surveilling a highly sensitive security facility for Iranian intelligence operatives.
On Thursday, they were charged with gathering intelligence for Iran, facing serious security-related charges of aiding the enemy in wartime and providing information to the enemy with the intent to harm national security.
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In a hearing held at the Central Region District Court, the prosecution requested to remand the couple until the end of the legal proceedings against them. At the conclusion of the hearing, it was decided that the couple would remain in custody for at least 30 days until a further decision was made regarding their case.
"The respondents committed security offenses at a time when the State of Israel is engaged in one of its toughest wars, facing multiple fronts including Iran,” the prosecution said in its request.
The indictment noted that individuals identifying themselves as Elshan and Hassan, acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence agencies, were involved in recruiting Israelis, including the couple, to carry out various tasks aimed at gathering intelligence for the Islamic Republic.
The defendants were asked, among other things, to photograph the Mossad headquarters, take pictures of graves of those killed in the October 7 massacre and monitor an academic from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) aiming to harm her.
The Iranian handlers, one of whom had a prior acquaintance with the defendant’s family from Azerbaijan, assigned Guliyev a "test mission." According to the indictment, Elshan asked the defendant to photograph a tourism office located near the Moldovan embassy in Tel Aviv.
Guliyev initially arrived near the German embassy, took photos there and only later reached the correct location sent by his handler, near the Moldovan embassy. The defendant received $400 for this photo.
From that point on, the defendants were assigned numerous tasks, which Guliyev carried out either alone or with his wife, under the guidance of foreign agents. Among various assignments, the defendants were asked to photograph the graves of victims of the October 7 massacre at cemeteries in Petah Tikva, Kfar Saba, Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva.
For these photos, the defendant was paid $1,200. He received $650 for each day of surveillance and photographing of Mossad headquarters. In total, the couple received approximately $26,000 in cryptocurrency from foreign agents. "I don’t know what my husband did or why he took pictures without my understanding,” Lala Guliyev, who doesn’t speak Hebrew, claimed during her interrogation.
However, investigators from the Israel Police’s special investigations unit Lahav 433 and the Shin Bet assert that she was fully aware of the purpose behind photographing security-sensitive sites across Israel and the source of the money they received for their actions.
"Today I understand that my actions could have harmed the country I love. I deeply regret it. I’ve been in this country for 25 years and I love it. I didn’t mean to harm the country; I was tempted by easy money,” the defendant said. “I thought I could trick the Iranians and only took mock photos."
Guliyev admitted to receiving instructions from his Iranian handler. Regarding the request to photograph the graves of last year’s massacre victims, the defendant said, "They insisted I take photos, even though I told them it was available online."
The defendant recounted that during one of his trips to Azerbaijan, a local businessman asked him to photograph offices for rent in Tel Aviv and Haifa, along with the views from them. He further shared that the businessman later connected him with another local, saying, "He had an Iranian accent." Guliyev revealed this individual overwhelmed him with requests to photograph sensitive sites in Israel.
The investigation revealed that the Iranian intelligence handler was well-acquainted with Israel and its sensitive and strategic facilities. While the defendant admitted to taking the photos, he also said during his investigation, "I thought I was smarter than the Iranian, so I didn’t photograph exactly what he asked for."
Later, the Iranian handler requested bolder actions, such as setting cars on fire. He also asked Guliyev, "Do you have the courage to kill someone?" to which the defendant responded, "I don’t."
Guliyev admitted in his interrogation that he recognized the handler as a hostile entity assigning him tasks, but claimed he didn’t believe his actions would harm the country. Investigators suspect that the handlers were involved in other cases leading to indictments against Israelis for espionage on behalf of Iran.
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