After Mossad hits, Iran’s espionage evokes shouts and murmurs inside Israel

It's not just Mossad playing spy games. Iran is up to it as well.

In a matter of a few weeks, Israel has announced arrests of several citizens who it accuses of working for Tehran.

On Tuesday, an Israeli man was arrested for allegedly agreeing to assassinate an Israeli scientist against a payment of $100,000. The money was reportedly offered by Iranian operatives.

An indictment filed on Wednesday by the Israeli State Prosecutor's Office charged 35-year-old Vladimir Verhovsky with contacting a foreign agent, possessing and transporting a weapon, and conspiring to commit a terrorist act, according to Haaretz newspaper

Just a day earlier, the Israeli State Prosecutor filed charges against Vladislav Victorson, 30, and Anna Bernstein, 18, both from Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, accusing them of carrying out missions on behalf of Iran. Victorson and Bernstein are also Israeli citizens.

They have been accused of contacting a foreign agent, vandalism, conspiracy to commit malicious damage, arson, and conspiracy to murder.

The Israeli security agency Shin Bet alleges that an Iranian agent reached out to Victorson through Telegram, offering money for a range of tasks.

Since August, these activities reportedly involved spray-painting graffiti, distributing anti-Netanyahu flyers, stashing cash, and setting cars on fire.

Victorson is also accused of agreeing to assassinate an unnamed public figure, attempting to build an explosive device, and seeking weapons like a sniper rifle. They allegedly received $1,450 in cryptocurrency for torching cars in Tel Aviv and $20 for each graffiti.

Another Israeli man, Moti Maman, was arrested in September for allegedly being recruited by Iranian intelligence to facilitate an assassination plot against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Investigations revealed that the 72-year-old businessman was smuggled into Iran twice to meet with Iranian operatives, according to Haaretz.

In May, he was offered payment for various missions, such as transferring funds and weapons, photographing crowded locations in Israel, and threatening other citizens.

Both Iran and Israel have recruited locals to spy on each other for years. Over time, the espionage tactics have become highly sophisticated, as evident from the pagers and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon in September.

Last month, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had dismantled a network of twelve Israeli agents across six provinces that was working to undermine country's national security.