Two distinct espionage investigations in Ashkelon and Jerusalem reveal suspects linked to Iranian intelligence, involving explosive material production and digital recruitment efforts.

An Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court allowed on Monday the publication of limited additional details from a sensitive security investigation involving several suspects alleged to have provided services to Iranian elements, in what appears to be the latest case in Israel’s widening wave of Iran-linked espionage affairs.

According to the wording now cleared for publication, the Serious and International Crime Unit in Lahav 433 is conducting a security-related investigation concerning several suspects who, according to the suspicion, provided various services to Iranian actors.

As part of that probe, investigators are examining suspicions that the suspects acted at the Iranians’ request to manufacture explosive material and even carried out experiments with the substance they allegedly produced.

The broader gag order remains in place, meaning the identities of the suspects, the extent of the alleged activity, and further details surrounding the contact with the Iranian elements remain barred from publication.

Even in its limited form, however, the case appears more serious than many of the Iran-linked espionage cases made public in recent months, which have often involved surveillance, photography, information-gathering, or relaying damage assessments in exchange for payment.

Some of the recent cases include two brothers accused of espionage on Iran’s behalf, an ex-police interpreter accused of passing along information related to Iranian missile strikes, and other suspects allegedly recruited to carry out intelligence tasks for handlers tied to Tehran.

In a separate case announced by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police later on Monday, authorities said a prosecutor’s declaration would be filed against a 21-year-old Jerusalem resident suspected of serious security offenses involving contact with and espionage for Iranian intelligence elements.

According to the joint statement, the suspect was arrested on March 26, and the investigation found that during 2025, he had been in contact with an Iranian intelligence operative whom he met through a social network.

Investigators alleged that he carried out a series of tasks, including gathering information, visually documenting various locations in Israel, and purchasing photography equipment and other means, while aware that he was acting on behalf of a hostile actor in exchange for payment received in cryptocurrency.

Sharpened concern over Iranian attempts to recruit Israelis as spies amid war

The affair also comes against the backdrop of the current war with Iran, and has sharpened Israeli concern not only over direct missile and drone attacks, but over attempts to recruit Israelis for missions inside the country during wartime.

That concern has been building for months. In its annual report published in January, the Shin Bet said 25 Israelis and foreign residents were indicted in 2025 for spying for Iran, while 120 separate Iranian espionage incidents were thwarted that year.

The agency said attempts to recruit Israelis jumped 400% in 2025 compared with 2024, which itself had already marked a sharp increase over previous years.

Taken together, the new case fits an increasingly familiar pattern: Iranian operatives allegedly seeking to recruit Israelis online or through intermediaries, often for money, and gradually pushing them toward more serious assignments.

The Jerusalem case, too, appeared to follow that pattern, with authorities saying the suspect was recruited online, directed through digital platforms, and paid in cryptocurrency.

What makes the current investigation stand out, at least based on the limited details now permitted for publication, is the suspicion that the alleged services may have included the production and testing of explosive material.