Beersheba resident indicted on charges of spying for Iran during military service

Prosecutors indicted a 22-year-old from Beersheba this morning on suspicion of spying for Iran during his mandatory military service.

The suspect, Rafael Reuveni, allegedly maintained contact with an Iranian intelligence agent who recruited him to take videos in a park near his home, and photograph a bus station and a shopping mall in the southern city.

He also sent his handler a photo of his military ID and provided him with information about his army base, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors write that at one point, his handler sent him to a supermarket to buy a pack of cigarettes, which he then was told to hide in a park alongside a 20-shekel bill with a note that read: “Go to Jordan.”

He was also allegedly sent to Rishon Lezion to check whether a gun hidden in a location, presumably by another Iranian-recruited Israeli agent, was real or a toy. He refused to transfer the gun to another person, but agreed to move it to another location for a payment of NIS 2,000 ($614).

In total, Reuveni received roughly $2,700 from the Iranian agent, which was transferred to his digital wallet, prosecutors say. He was arrested last month by police, based on intelligence collected by the Shin Bet.

Prosecutors are requesting that the Beersheba District Court order his remand until the end of legal proceedings.