2 teens from Kiryat Motzkin charged with Iran spying, vandalism, attempted recruitment

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office charges two Kiryat Motzkin residents aged 14 and 16 with vandalism, surveillance and attempted recruitment on behalf of an Iranian intelligence agent, which they allegedly did in exchange for several hundred shekels in cryptocurrency.

One of the teens also allegedly posed as a soldier in the Military Intelligence 8200 unit in an attempt to receive more missions.

The suspects are indicted at the Haifa District Juvenile Court on counts including property damage, contact with a foreign agent and providing intelligence to an enemy, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

One of the suspects made contact with the agent, alias Daniel, in June via a Telegram group devoted to job postings, and later recruited the other suspect, prosecutors say.

Police say the suspect who made the initial contact was arrested upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. The police statement does not specify when the arrest took place or where the suspect was arriving from.

The contact continued even after Daniel answered affirmatively when asked by one of the suspects if the agent was linked to Iran, prosecutors say.

Tasks carried out by the suspects allegedly included gathering footage of malls in the Herzliya and Tel Aviv areas; passing on information about the entrances and number of security guards at one of the malls; forming a Telegram group to find other minors willing to take part in “high-risk” missions; and spray-painting slogans in the Kiryat Motzkin area.

Police describe the spray-painted slogans as “inciting against the government.”