Tel Aviv resident Vladimir Verhovski was arrested for allegedly accepting directives from an Iranian intelligence network in Israel, including a paid assassination against an Israeli scientist.
As part of a joint preventive operation by the Shin Bet and the police's Lahav 433 unit, Verhovski, a 35-year-old resident of Tel Aviv, was arrested for questioning after he performed various tasks for the Iranian intelligence network.
Some of Verhovski’s missions were self-documented, and he was paid for their completion. Communication between Verhovski and the Iranian operatives was in English, during which he was tasked with purchasing a phone dedicated strictly to said communications.
Investigations further revealed that Verhovski was aware he was acting as an adversary intending harm to Israel’s security and that the various tasks he was given were under the direction of Iranian agents.
Among the tasks he was given, Verhovski sprayed graffiti, posted flyers, gathered information on an Israeli figure, and planted devices for additional missions by other recruits. Subsequently, Verhovski agreed to assassinate an Israeli scientist for the sum of 100,000 US dollars, for which he acquired weapons.
The suspect will be brought to a hearing on Wednesday in the Lod District Court, where an extension of his detention until the end of proceedings will be requested. The Central District Prosecutor's Office reportedly plans to file severe charges against him.
Social media as a recruitment platform
It is already known that social media networks may also serve as a platform for Iranian Intelligence agents to recruit Israelis for various missions. Although these tasks may initially seem innocent, they can lead to a significant threat to state security. It should be noted that a significant number of Israeli citizens who received suspicious messages did not respond to them and reported them to the relevant authorities.
A commander in a security division at Lahav 433, Superintendent Maor Goren, stated: "This is another incident in a series of serious cases being investigated by Lahav 433 and the Shin Bet, in which Israeli citizens are being operated by a foreign agent. However, here we have crossed another boundary in terms of severity and audacity: the suspect was already armed with a pistol, magazine, and bullets, and all this after agreeing to carry out the murder of a scientist in exchange for $100,000 and flee the country with the help of the foreign agent to Russia immediately after the act."