State media reports over the weekend indicate that Iranian authorities have detained dozens of individuals suspected of espionage for Israel in multiple provinces.
Fars, a news agency linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on Sunday that the West Azerbaijan prosecutor’s office detained 20 people in the northwestern city of Urmia, accusing them of supplying Israel with details about military, police, and security locations.
According to Tasnim, a semi-official news agency, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence announced on Saturday that it had apprehended several “enemy operatives” nationwide, including a 10-person team in Mazandaran province and a separate 10-person network in Khorasan Razavi province.
Officials stated that the suspects transmitted the locations of military facilities and economic infrastructure, and also provided coordinates for public areas, academic institutions, and research centers to Israel.
Intelligence officials in southern Khuzestan province also announced the detention of a three-member “terrorist team” suspected of conducting armed assaults on security personnel and government buildings.
Citing a senior Israeli security official, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Israel has depended on information from ordinary Iranians to pinpoint targets for attacks within Iran.
The newspaper indicated that details about potential targets are transmitted via Israeli Persian-language social media accounts and are confirmed by Israeli authorities prior to conducting strikes.
In a related development, Bahraini officials announced on Sunday the arrest of five individuals accused of conveying sensitive information to the IRGC and assisting in recruiting operatives for possible attacks within the country.
A statement from Bahrain’s Police Media Center alleged that the suspects gathered and sent coordinates and images of sensitive sites, including hotels, to the IRGC.
Officials stated that one suspect had previously undergone training at IRGC camps in “trafficking persons and recruiting operatives to take part in executing terrorist plots.”
The five detainees have been handed over to Bahrain’s Public Prosecution, while a sixth suspect mentioned in the case is thought to be at large overseas.