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Tajik man accused of spying on Israel for Iran

02 July 2026 13:13 (UTC +04:00)

A man from Tajikistan holding a Russian passport was recently arrested on suspicion of spying on Israel on behalf of Iran and working to recruit additional spies, authorities announced, The Times of Israel reports.

A joint investigation by the police, Shin Bet, and the Defense Ministry found that Behrouz Sobirgon, a Tajik citizen, was in contact with an Iranian handler starting in January, with most of his “security activity” taking place during the recent war with Iran.

A statement says that during the war, Sobirgon “sought to help Iran achieve operational successes and advance its objectives in the international arena against the State of Israel.”

The missions he carried out for the Iranian handler included “documenting and transferring the locations of Iranian missile impact sites” during the Iran war, providing coordinates of the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv, sending a photo of the Haifa Port, and attempting to photograph a “sensitive security facility” in northern Israel, the joint statement says.