Israeli mayor urges residents to be vigilant against Iranian spying attempts

Tzvika Brot, the mayor of the central city Bat Yam, urged residents on Tuesday to remain vigilant against attempts by Iranian intelligence to recruit locals for spying against Israel. 

In a video message posted on Facebook, Brot called on residents to report any suspicious activities before they potentially cause “irreversible harm” to Israel’s national security. The mayor revealed that his city is in contact with Israeli security agencies concerning the "possibility that our residents might fall into the net of Iranian intelligence."

"The Shin Bet met with the local government and informed them that there is a general problem. The Iranians are no longer hiding, but are contacting everyone by phone. One per thousand percent is enough – and they manage to recruit," Brot warned in an interview with the local N12 News.

"We know that there are also residents of Bat Yam who, these very days, are maintaining such contacts," Brot revealed without elaborating. He stressed that these local individuals are "endangering not only Israel’s security but also their personal future" through their contacts with Iranian intelligence officers. H warned that cooperating with Iran constitutes a "very serious offense" and would "cause themselves irreversible harm."

Iranian intelligence has in the past two years escalated its efforts to recruit Israelis for spying missions against the Jewish state. The Bat Yam mayor noted that Tehran often targets financially vulnerable Israelis who seek to earn an extra income.

"We have recently been hearing in the media about normative people, even reserve soldiers, outstanding students, and retirees, who thought they would make easy money, and perhaps carry out actions that they thought would cause no harm at all. Later, they were also convinced to do other actions, such as moving a package from place to place," Brot said. 

"We are still in a sensitive period from a security perspective, and we are doing everything to be prepared for what lies ahead – but we need your assistance to ensure that our enemies do not receive even unintentional assistance from home," the mayor urged the public. 

"If you or relatives or friends responded to one of these approaches, held conversations with the Iranians, perhaps even already carried out various tasks, do not wait until they knock on your door. It is probably still not too late to reach out to us, and we can try together with the security agencies to turn the wheel back," he added. 

Located close to Tel Aviv, Bat Yam was among the worst affected Israeli cities during the Iranian ballistic missile attacks in June. Iran fired some 550 ballistic missiles during the 12-day-war between Israel and Iran. Israel’s multilayered aerial defense systems successfully intercepted the large majority of the incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.

However, some Iranian missiles managed to penetrate Israel’s defense systems, killing at least 24 Israeli civilians and causing significant damage to buildings in Bat Yam and other cities.