Israel thwarts Iranian plot after young soldier falls prey to hostile Arab-Iranian intelligence manipulation.
Israel has once again exposed the relentless reach of Iranian terror networks targeting the Jewish state from afar. A shocking indictment was filed in the Be’er Sheva District Court against 22-year-old Rafael Reuveni, an Israeli soldier who was covertly recruited and exploited by an Iranian intelligence operative via Telegram.
According to prosecutors, the Iranian handler initiated contact weeks earlier, offering money in exchange for seemingly harmless “tasks.” What began as simple filming of parks, bus stops, and malls quickly escalated into operational reconnaissance—classic Iranian intelligence tradecraft aimed at mapping civilian targets inside Israel.
The agent instructed Reuveni to hide items, plant notes encouraging travel to Jordan, and identify whether a weapon planted in Rishon LeZion was real. When he refused to pass the weapon to another unknown figure, Iranian operatives immediately redirected him, ordering him to relocate it for payment. He was also sent to hide phones, retrieve SIM cards, and even attempt to purchase chemical substances such as hydrogen peroxide—often used in terror-related preparations.
Prosecutors revealed that Iran pushed further, asking him to report names of other Israelis who might be vulnerable for recruitment—highlighting Tehran’s ongoing campaign to infiltrate Israeli society and exploit young individuals.
Despite some tasks going uncompleted, the Iranian agent paid Reuveni roughly $2,700, transferred into a digital wallet—clear evidence of foreign terror financing linked to Iran’s ongoing war against Israel from multiple fronts.
Israel’s swift detection and disruption of the operation once again demonstrates the vigilance of its security forces against hostile Arab-Iranian attempts to destabilize the country from within.
