Russian citizen in Israel on work permit indicted over suspected espionage tied to Iran

Prosecutors accuse Vitaly Zvyagintsev of sending Iranian agent footage of military vessels and strategic area before he was arrested at airbase earlier this month

Prosecutors have indicted a Russian national on espionage charges after he was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iranian interests, the State Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Vitaly Zvyagintsev, a Russian citizen who had been living in Israel on a work permit, is accused of taking pictures of sensitive sites across the country for an Iranian agent.

Zyvagintsev and the agent were in contact from early October until December 4, when the Russian citizen was arrested at an air force base, the State Attorney’s Office said.

Zvyagintsev allegedly photographed the ports of Eilat, Haifa and Ashdod, as well as the Herzliya Marina, and sent the documentation to his handler. The defendant is also accused of traveling to Nesher Park, which overlooks parts of Haifa, in order to film oil refineries in the city.

The defendant also allegedly photographed military vessels, including an armed merchant cruiser belonging to the US Navy and a Dolphin-class submarine belonging to the Israeli Navy.

He was paid hundreds of dollars in cryptocurrency for each task, prosecutors said.

He was arrested earlier this month at the Ramat David Air Force Base, where he tried to carry out another espionage mission, according to prosecutors. He had taken photos of the site, but was arrested by security forces before he could pass them onto his handler, the indictment said.

Though police usually coordinate with the Shin Bet to investigate Iranian espionage cases, the probe was overseen jointly by the Shin Bet and the Director of Security of the Defense Establishment, an internal Defense Ministry investigatory unit known by its Hebrew acronym Malmab.

The defendant was charged in the Central District Court on Friday with maintaining contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy.

Israel has arrested dozens of citizens who allegedly spied for Iran, in what sources told Reuters has been Tehran’s biggest effort in decades to infiltrate its arch foe.

The arrests follow repeated efforts by Iranian intelligence operatives over the years to recruit ordinary Israelis to gather intelligence and carry out attacks in exchange for money.

In a statement sent to media in 2024 following a wave of arrests by Israel of Jewish citizens suspected of spying for Iran, Iran’s UN mission did not confirm or deny seeking to recruit Israelis and said that “from a logical standpoint,” any such efforts by Iranian intelligence services would focus on non-Iranian and non-Muslim individuals to lessen suspicion.

Following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, Iran has executed dozens of people it accuses of having links with the Mossad and facilitating its operations in the country.