Seven men from Jerusalem have been arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate an Israeli nuclear scientist and the mayor of a large city in central Israel on behalf of Iran, authorities announced Tuesday.
The suspects, six of whom are Israeli citizens, are accused of performing various espionage missions for the Islamic Republic, said Israeli police and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service. These missions included setting a car on fire, spray painting graffiti calling for the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza, vandalizing sites in Jerusalem, and taking photos of a research center in addition to other locations, the Times of Israel reported.
The spy ring was led by 23-year-old Rami Alian, who was approached by an Iranian agent and recruited the other six members. All men were between the ages of 19 and 23 and had no previous criminal or security-related records.
Alian was tasked with throwing a hand grenade at an Israeli officer, which he ultimately never did, and assassinating a nuclear scientist by his Iranian handlers. The man allegedly began preparing for the killing after receiving the target’s photo and address, but his group was arrested before the plan could come to fruition.
Alian told investigators he felt “proud that an Iranian turned to me,” according to authorities. The spy-ring leader is said to have wanted to harm Israel’s national security due to the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. All seven spies are reportedly Palestinians who lived in East Jerusalem.
Money was also an important motivating factor. In exchange for assassinating the nuclear scientist, Alian would have been paid $53,000 if the plot moved forward. The details are unclear about the targeted mayor and the accompanying price tag for the politician’s death.
While searching the suspects’ houses, Israeli officers found some $13,229, about ten credit cards, and a fake police license plate. Detectives had followed the alleged Iranian spies since September.
The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office is expected to indict the seven men on charges of serious security violations soon, officials said. Their detention was previously extended to Thursday.
The newly revealed arrests mark the fifth Iranian plot that Israel has uncovered in a little over a month and the second this week. The previous case, announced Monday, involved seven Israeli citizens who carried out some 600 missions for Iran over two years in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They were arrested on September 19.
Among the alleged Iranian plots that Israel has foiled includes one case involving a Jewish man accused of plotting to assassinate Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu or possibly two other high-ranking officials. Israeli authorities indicted the man last month on suspicion of working for Iran. He was arrested in August.