Father, son from northern Druze village arrested for spying on behalf of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force

Two residents of the northern Druze village of Mas’ade have been arrested for carrying out surveillance missions on behalf of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force, the Shin Bet and police say.

The suspects, Tahrir Safadi and Bassem Safadi, a father and son, were detained in November over suspicions they were “recruited by Iranian elements and committed crimes of espionage and contact with a foreign agent during the war,” the Shin Bet says.

The investigation found that Tahrir, 21, a software engineering student, was involved in surveillance missions for Iran and the so-called Axis of Resistance in recent years, at the request of his father, Bassem.

The Shin Bet says he would collect information on IDF activity in his area, the Golan Heights, which was then handed over to Hussam as-Salam Tawfiq Zidan, a journalist with the Iranian state-owned Al-Alam News Network.

Zidan lived in Damascus and simultaneously worked for the Palestine division in the Quds Force, according to the Shin Bet. The unit is responsible for aiding Palestinian terror groups in carrying out attacks.

Tahrir and Bassem were both instructed by their Quds Force handler Zidan to carry out various missions, including taking photos of troops, tank movements, equipment, and other details, the security agency says.

Today, an indictment was filed against Tahrir Safadi, accusing him of “grave crimes of espionage.”

His father, Bassem, will be held in administrative detention due to “the absence of a criminal proceeding alternative, and given his high risk to state security and public peace,” the Shin Bet says.

The Shin Bet in recent months has announced a series of alleged Iranian plots, in which Tehran had tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions, or recruited Israelis to gather intelligence on high-profile figures, military targets, and other sites.

“The investigation of the case revealed once again the fact that elements of the Axis, led by Iran, work to advance terror activity in Israel and exploit the residents of the State of Israel for espionage activities,” the agency says.

The Shin Bet and police add that they view the case, and any other contact by Israelis with Iranian elements, “gravely.”