Two young men have been arrested on suspicion of espionage for Iran, including one who allegedly planned to undergo training in an Arab country, authorities revealed Monday.

The pair were set to be indicted in the afternoon on security charges in the Lod Central District Court.

Nineteen-year-old Sagi Haik, from Ness Ziona, was allegedly in contact with an Iranian agent for several months before his arrest in March, said the Shin Bet and Israel Police in a joint statement.

“Haik agreed to undergo training in one of the Arab countries, and was even asked to recruit additional people to carry out missions under their [the Iranians’] direction,” the security agencies said.

According to law enforcement, several of Haik’s family members received “threatening messages” from the Iranian agent after the young man disclosed their personal details to him. Despite this, Haik maintained contact with him.

During his interrogation, Haik allegedly confessed to assisting another Israeli recruited by Iran, 21-year-old Assaf Shitrit, in carrying out a mission for his handler. Shitrit, from Beit Oved, was arrested as well.

The pair are the latest to be arrested on suspicion of spying for the Islamic Republic, a burgeoning phenomenon which the security establishment has struggled to stem, even during the recent war against Iran.

In most cases of alleged Iranian espionage, Israelis have carried out missions for their handlers in exchange for money. Police did not specify whether Haik and Shitrit were paid for their actions.

Iranian agents usually start out their recruits with relatively mundane tasks such as vandalism or the filming of public locations, which then escalate into intelligence gathering, and sometimes violence.

Haik is one of a handful of alleged recruits who have allegedly expressed willingness to take up arms as part of their contact with an Iranian agent.

Earlier this month, 22-year-old Ami Gaydarov was indicted on severe security charges after he allegedly produced explosive material intended for terror bombings on the orders of an Iranian agent.

The explosive material “was intended for use against a public figure, whose identity is unknown, and for the purpose of an explosion at a bus stop or another place where people were liable to be hurt,” state prosecutors wrote in Gaydarov’s indictment.

In 2025, two Jewish young men from Tiberias were arrested while preparing to fly to Iran for shooting training with the goal of assassinating a senior figure.

A year prior to that, a group of seven young men from Beit Safafa, an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem, were nabbed on suspicion of planning to assassinate a prominent scientist and the mayor of a major city.

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Israelis spying for Iran

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