An Israeli arrested in April on suspicion of conducting intelligence-gathering missions on behalf of Iran was involved in a plot to assassinate Defense Minister Israel Katz, it was revealed on Saturday, marking the latest development in a widening Iranian espionage campaign inside Israel.

The suspect, 24-year-old Roy Mizrahi, placed powerful explosives somewhere near Katz’s home in the town of Kfar Ahim as part of an “Iranian plot to assassinate him,” Channel 12 reported.

It said he has been charged with “aiding an enemy at a time of war.”

The explosives were intended to detonate when Katz passed close by, Channel 12 reported, alleging that the Iranians were “very close to succeeding.”

However, the report did not specify how close to Katz’s home Mizrahi placed the explosives, nor did it state that the explosives were primed to detonate, indicating that Mizrahi’s action was not the final stage in the plot.

The report said, without elaborating, that the plot against Katz was one of several Iranian plans to target senior Israelis that were being put in place by Iran in the event of war.

The report detailed how Mizrahi was recruited via a Telegram channel and then roped in a friend, Almog Atias.

Atias, also 24, was arrested........

© The Times of Israel