Israeli arrested for spying, producing and testing bomb as part of Iranian plot to kill former PM Bennett

An Israeli resident of Haifa was arrested last month on suspicion of having manufactured and tested an explosive device at the behest of an Iranian intelligence operative, aiming to assassinate former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Israel Police and the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet stated Thursday.

“Ami Gaydarov, a 22-year-old resident of Haifa, was arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses involving contact with Iranian intelligence elements and aiding the enemy during wartime,” the agencies said in a joint statement, after the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court lifted a gag order.

Over the past few years, the police’s major crime unit, Lahav 433, has investigated more than 60 cases of espionage by Israelis at the behest of Iran, with every case resulting in serious indictments, according to Ynet News.

According to i24 News, Gaydarov and a friend, who will both be indicted in the coming days, not only manufactured an explosive device but also managed to test its effectiveness by detonating a bomb in a public shelter in an underground parking lot in Haifa, and filming the experiment.

“Only by a miracle did a disaster not occur,” a source in the investigation told the outlet.

While the two suspects didn’t tell investigators who the specific target of their operation was, police believe that Bennett was a target due to the locations visited by Gaydarov, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.

According to the interrogation, Gaydarov contacted an Iranian operative on his own initiative in August 2025 while looking for ways to make money.

Like in the many other cases revealed over the past months, the Iranian handlers offered sums of money, paid via cryptocurrency, in exchange for several tasks, which often escalated in the danger posed by them.

To maintain contact with the Iranian operatives, Gaydarov first purchased dedicated phones before renting an apartment where he manufactured explosive devices and recorded footage and pictures of his actions to prove to his handlers he had completed the tasks.

The suspect further contacted and enlisted several of his friends to assist with tasks, including purchasing the raw materials required for the bombs. He eventually produced between 8 and 10 kilograms (about 17-22 pounds) of explosive material at the apartment.

Police and Shin Bet said that two other residents of northern Israel, identified as Sergey Libman and Eduard Shovtyuk, admitted to helping Gaydarov purchase materials, hide the explosive device, and conduct the test, respectively.

During the ongoing war against Iran, Gaydarov’s handlers instructed him to take pictures of the Port of Haifa, send footage of missile impact sites in the northern region, and find a rental property overlooking the port to install a fixed camera there.

Superintendent Maor Goren, who heads the investigative team, told Ynet News that “he was carrying out operations for the Iranians up until the night before his arrest.”

The suspect received about NIS 80,000 or roughly $26,000 via digital wallets for the various tasks he performed.

“It is important to understand that the main suspect produced a very large quantity of sensitive explosive material, where any error in handling it could have caused a huge explosion that would have harmed neighbors,” Goren said.

“Each of the explosive devices that were seized and detonated last year on buses in Bat Yam contained 300 grams of explosive material, and that caused an enormous blast. So imagine a quantity nearly 30 times greater than the suspect managed to produce.”

The police filed a prosecutor’s declaration against Gaydarov on Thursday, and the indictment against him and the co-suspects in the case is expected to be filed in the coming days.

“The Shin Bet and the Israel Police reiterate their warning to the citizens and residents of the State of Israel against maintaining contact with foreign agents from enemy states and unidentified entities, and certainly against carrying out tasks for them in exchange for payment or for any other reason.”