Israeli pair arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran; couple allegedly gathered intel on Mossad, were asked to find assassin

A couple from Lod have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Tehran, the Shin Bet and police say, the latest in a number of such cases of alleged espionage for Tehran to be revealed in recent weeks.

Officials say one of the pair was tasked with finding an assassin on behalf of his Iranian handlers.

According to the statement, Rafael and Lala Guliyev, both aged around 32, carried out intelligence gathering missions on security and national infrastructure sites, as well as tracking an academic at a security think tank with the intention of her being harmed.

Rafael Guliyev was allegedly also asked to find an assassin.

The pair were said to have been recruited as part of an Iranian ring that recruits Israelis who are part of the community of immigrants from the Caucasus region.

The pair were said to have been recruited by an Israeli of Azerbaijani origin.

According to security officials, Rafael Guliyev carried out surveillance tasks on security sites in Israel, including the Mossad’s headquarters, and collected information on an academic working at Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).

He was said to have been assisted by his wife in a number of the missions.

The statement does not reveal if the couple was believed to have been motivated by financial or ideological reasons.

A Shin Bet official says the investigation revealed “once again the efforts of the Iranian intelligence agencies to recruit and exploit Israeli citizens in order to promote espionage and terrorist activity in Israel.”