Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared that it had detained eight people accused of trying to provide Israel’s Mossad intelligence service with details about senior Iranian commanders and sensitive military coordinates, according to Reuters.
The arrests are tied to Israel’s aerial offensive in June, which struck Iranian nuclear facilities and left both senior officers and civilians dead.
Officials in the Revolutionary Guard claimed the suspects had undergone virtual training sessions led by Mossad. The group was reportedly caught in Iran’s northeast before they could carry out their mission, and authorities say they confiscated equipment designed for building bombs, launch devices, and booby traps.
Tehran has long alleged that Israel is behind sabotage and covert actions inside Iran, and frequently announces arrests or executions of people it says spied for Mossad.
Last year, Iran announced the execution of a man it called a “terrorist” who had been accused of working with Mossad in connection with a drone strike against a defense ministry facility in central Iran the previous year.
One month earlier, Iranian officials claimed they had executed four individuals for spying for Mossad, asserting that the group had been in contact with Mossad director David Barnea, received training in Africa, and slipped into Iran through Iraq’s Kurdish region.
In December 2023, Tehran further reported that it had executed what it described as an “Israeli Mossad spy” in the country’s southeast.
Over the last several months, Iran has carried out executions of at least eight people on espionage charges. Among them was nuclear scientist Rouzbeh Vadi, who was put to death on August 9, accused of passing intelligence to Israel concerning another scientist killed in Israeli strikes.
Just days after Vadi’s death, Iranian authorities revealed they had taken 20 more people into custody, claiming they too were tied to Mossad. Officials have warned that those found guilty will receive the harshest penalties.
