21-year-old Jerusalem man charged with gathering intelligence on behalf of Iran

A Jerusalem man has been charged with security offenses after he was arrested last month on suspicion of gathering intelligence for an Iranian agent.

The State Attorney’s Office says that it filed an indictment at the Jerusalem District Court this morning against 21-year-old Moshe Lachovitz, after he allegedly carried out tasks from his Iranian handler in exchange for pay.

The indictment alleges that Lachovitz reached out to the Iranian, who identified himself as “Michael,” while looking for employment.

He was asked to carry out various tasks such as documenting and photographing sites across the country, including in Jerusalem and Ra’anana, where former prime minister Naftali Bennett lives. He was paid thousands of dollars for his work, transferred to him in cryptocurrency, the State Attorney’s Office says.

The period in which Lachovitz was working for his Iranian handler included the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, the indictment says.

According to the indictment, Lachovitz did not immediately realise that “Michael” was an Iranian agent, but after discovering the truth, continued to work for him anyway.