A resident of Petah Tikva was arrested by the Shin Bet and Israel Police for carrying out missions for Iran, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police announced on Thursday.
The Shin Bet and Tel Aviv District Police arrested Daniel Ki Tov, 26, after conducting an investigation which revealed that Ki Tov was in contact with an Iranian entity for months and graffitied areas of Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin for payment.
The suspect was asked to photograph the head of the Shin Bet's house, and he allegedly offered to photograph MK Benny Gantz's house as well.
The investigation also revealed that Ki Tov was told to take photos of the home of Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, military bases. It was asked if he knew any of the Israel Air Force pilots, but, according to the investigation, he didn't carry out any of these tasks. He did, however, offer to photograph MK Benny Gantz's home but never did so in the end.
The investigation stated that Ki Tov understood that he was speaking with an Iranian entity.
An indictment will be filed against him on Thursday morning in the Lod District Court for contacting a foreign agent.
Iranian 'spies' in Israel
In October 2024, seven Israelis were arrested on suspicion of espionage for Iran.
Prosecutors alleged that the suspects completed some 600 missions for Iran, including gathering intelligence on sensitive military and infrastructure sites and identifying potential human targets for the Islamic Republic.
Notable sites involved in their alleged espionage included Ramat David Airbase, Nevatim Airbase, Glilot, and the Golani Brigade base, where four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone attack.
The suspects "were given maps of strategic sites from their handlers, including of the Golani Brigade base," the State Attorney said.
The seven suspects, Jewish Israelis of Azeri origin from Haifa and Haifa’s bayside suburbs, some of whom are relatives and one of whom is an AWOL soldier, have been in custody for around 35 days. Two are minors, according to police.
Actions by the suspects "inflicted security damage on the state," according to Israeli assessments, a senior Israel Security Agency (ISA) said.
The "severity and scope" of the incident is "among the most serious known to Israel," Israel Police said.
Eve Young and Jacob Laznik contributed to this article.