Iran Security Agency Detains Alleged Israeli Spy Agent

UNSPLASH/Larry Farr ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Iran's security agency detained a person suspected of being an Israeli spy in the northwestern province of Ardabil, according to the local government.

As reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, General Prosecutor Ardabil Jalal Afaghi said the suspect was wanted by Iran's intelligence ministry and worked for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

He said the suspect came from one of the provinces in southern Iran and had traveled to many provinces to avoid surveillance.

Afaghi said the suspect ended up planning to leave Iran but was caught in a raid on the border province.

According to Iranian officials, the suspect came into contact with high-level Mossad officials through social media networks and gathered information for them.

The announcement of the arrests comes hours after the top commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Hossein Salami, vowed to take revenge for the killing of a military adviser in Syria.

Salami on Wednesday, June 5, said Israel "will pay for the spilled blood." of IRGC fighter Saeid Abyar, who died in an airstrike in northwestern Syria, near Aleppo, on Monday. Iran accused Israel of carrying out the attack.

Iranian security and intelligence agencies in recent years have repeatedly arrested people accused of carrying out spy missions for Israel.

In January, four people suspected of working for Israeli intelligence agencies were executed two years after their arrest in connection with bombing operations in central Isfahan province.

A few weeks earlier, four members of the sabotage team suspected of being linked to Mossad were also executed.

The four men, according to judicial officials, took extensive action against the country's security forces under the direct orders of Mossad officials.

In December 2023, a person convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence services was executed in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan in southeastern Iran.

Tensions between Iran and Israel, two arch-foe in the region, have risen dramatically since the April 1 attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria, which killed seven IRGC officers.

Iran blamed Israel for the attack and retaliated by carrying out the first direct attack on Israel involving hundreds of drones and missiles.