Joint intelligence operation uncovers Israeli agents for Iran, including attempted assassin

An indictment was also filed against a Bnei Brak resident who was accused of following an Israeli nuclear scientist at the direction of Iranian agents.

A joint operation between the Shin Bet (ISA), the Police’s Unit of International Crime Investigations (Yahbal), and Lahav 433 Cyber Unit uncovered another Iranian intelligence network operating to recruit and activate Israeli citizens as spies for the Islamic Republic, the Israel Police announced on Thursday morning.

Investigations led authorities to arrest Rafael and Lala Gulayev, both 32, from Lod, who allegedly completed targeted recruitment assignments on Iran’s behalf of Israelis whose families came from the Caucasus region.

The investigation revealed that Elkhan Agayev, a 56-year-old Azerbaijani national working on behalf of Iranian agents, recruited the Gulayevs. At Agayev’s instruction, the couple reportedly conducted surveillance on sensitive security sites in Israel, including the Mossad headquarters.

Series of attempts against Israel

Additionally, an indictment was filed Thursday morning against Bnei Brak resident Asher Binyamin Weiss, who was accused of following an Israeli nuclear scientist at the direction of Iranian agents. Weiss allegedly received instructions from these agents to assassinate the scientist.

Weiss faces charges of contacting a foreign agent, providing information to the enemy, and obstructing justice.

View of the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, central Israel, on February 27, 2024 (credit: FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)

“These cases add to a series of thwarted attempts exposed in recent weeks, during which Israeli citizens operated by Iranian intelligence elements were arrested,” a senior Shin Bet official stated. “The investigations once again reveal the efforts of Iranian intelligence to recruit and exploit Israeli citizens for espionage and terrorist activities in Israel.”

Rafael Gulayev also allegedly gathered intelligence on an academic at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) who had been flagged as a target for Iranian interests. The couple was also asked to seek out an assassin for the individual.

An indictment is set to be filed against the couple on Thursday.

“The Israeli Police, in collaboration with Shin Bet and other security agencies, will continue to operate tirelessly to detect and prevent activities that threaten our citizens,” a senior police official said.

“We will take decisive action against those unscrupulous individuals collaborating with hostile entities and endangering public safety.”