Jerusalem – Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said Tuesday that it has broken up an Iranian plot to recruit Israelis of Iranian origin as spies, part of what it says is a burgeoning Iranian intelligence operation against the Jewish state.
The affair highlights a quirk in the hostile relations between the countries – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly calls for Israel’s destruction but allows Israeli Jews with relatives in Iran to visit his country.
Israeli security officials told reporters that Shin Bet agents detained an Israeli returning from a visit to relatives among Iran’s 25,000-member Jewish community. He told interrogators he was given money by Iranian intelligence operatives and asked to help them spy on Israel.
Shin Bet briefing documents obtained by The Associated Press did not specify when the man was picked up, whether he carried out the request or whether he was released after questioning, but Israeli media reports said no charges had been brought.
The documents said it was just one of several such cases. No specific number was given, but Israel Army Radio cited an unidentified senior Shin Bet officer as saying the agency uncovered 10 recruitment attempts in the past two years.
There was no comment from the Iranian government.
According to Israeli government figures, about 135,000 Israeli Jews trace their roots to Iran.
