State prosecutors filed an indictment in the Tel Aviv District Juvenile Court on Wednesday against a 14-year-old from central Israel who is accused of carrying out paid assignments for hostile actors while suspecting they were Iranian.
It is another case in a widening pattern of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis online for intelligence-gathering and sabotage-related missions during the war, according to the authorities.
The minor was charged with contact with a foreign agent, passing information to the enemy, and obstruction-related offenses, among other counts, the prosecution said.
Because the suspect is a minor, identifying details are barred from publication, and the indictment was not released.
Contacted via Telegram
Last April, the teenager contacted a person in a Telegram group after seeing a message about work he was interested in, and the two agreed that he would perform tasks in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency transferred to a digital wallet, the prosecutors said, adding that he opened four digital wallets into which handlers transferred more than $1,170.
Among the tasks attributed to him were: spraying the graffiti slogan, “We are committed to the covenant,” in multiple areas of Tel Aviv and on vehicles; filming streets near Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and neighborhoods in Ramat Gan; and recording a video of the Tel Aviv skyline while describing the location of the Kirya military headquarters.
Prosecutors said he was also asked to rent an apartment near the Kirya, after which he sent a picture of an apartment for rent and spoke with several landlords in the area.
According to the prosecutors, the teen was also instructed to spray pro-Iranian graffiti on Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s home and to prepare video documentation of the minister. The slogan was to read: “We will avenge Ruhollah’s children” – an apparent reference to Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and the country’s first supreme leader.
The teen responded that he could not carry out that task because he was in school but would be able to do it during vacation, the prosecutors said.
After he was questioned in the case, prosecutors allege, the minor tried to get a classmate to lie to investigators and falsely claim that he had been the one who transferred most of the money later found in the digital wallets.
A broader trend of Iranian operatives reaching Israelis online
The case fits a broader trend that security officials have been warning about for months: Iranian operatives reaching Israelis online, often through Telegram, job-related channels, or platforms tied to finance and cryptocurrency. Initially, they offer money for what appears to be minor errands and then escalating to more sensitive surveillance or operational tasks.
In a public warning in September 2024, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said Iran had stepped up efforts to recruit Israelis for terrorism and espionage purposes, including through online approaches framed as paid work.
THAT WARNING described a familiar progression: At first, the requested acts can look relatively harmless, such as hiding cash or phones, distributing flyers, or painting graffiti, but they can quickly develop into requests involving arson, surveillance of public figures, or physical harm.
The Shin Bet urged the public to report suspicious approaches immediately and said it viewed any contact with hostile actors, even where it appears “innocent,” as a grave security offense.
In January, the Shin Bet said 25 Israelis and foreign residents in Israel had been indicted for spying for Iran in 2025, and that the number of Iranian plots using Israelis as spies had jumped 400% in 2025 compared with 2024, after a similar 400% increase the year before. The agency said 120 separate Iranian spying incidents had been thwarted in 2025.
The newer cases have shown how varied the assignments can be. Last May, Moshe Attias, 18, of Ashdod, was indicted after allegedly surveilling former prime minister Naftali Bennett at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba. Prosecutors said he had documented security arrangements and tried to locate Bennett’s room after being recruited through Telegram messages offering “a better financial future.”
In February 2025, a Petah Tikva resident was accused of carrying out dozens of graffiti missions for an Iranian contact and was allegedly asked to photograph the home of then-Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and military bases. The authorities said he had understood he was dealing with an Iranian handler.
In March 2025, a Beersheba resident was accused of initiating contact with Iranian operatives and offering to sell information, including while claiming access to the Negev Nuclear Research Center. He was accused of contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy, the Shin Bet said.
By last July, prosecutors had also filed indictments against three men in cases tied to Iranian handlers, including two suspects accused of photographing malls and Ichilov Hospital and agreeing in principle to travel to Iran for training toward an assassination mission against a senior Israeli public figure.
Authorities have also cited the vulnerability of minors. In another case last May, the Shin Bet and police said they had arrested a 16-year-old from the Shfela on suspicion of performing multiple tasks for Iranian actors for money, including burying cash, photographing sites, printing posters, and burning items with anti-government slogans.
A security official had urged parents to warn teenagers about the dangers of online contact with foreign actors offering payment for seemingly simple jobs, the authorities said.
The latest indictment suggests that foreign actors have been targeting younger age groups. Since the October 7 massacre in 2023, and the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War, the authorities have described recruitment efforts that begin with cash, anonymity, and social-media contact. They then move toward intelligence collection on sensitive sites, senior officials, and potential targets inside Israel.