 |
 |
 |
|
|
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By israelinsider staff April 17, 2007 |
|
| |
 Bookmark to del.icio.us |
| |
Shin Bet security forces revealed Tuesday that they held an Israeli citizen over suspicions he had been recruited by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence.
The man was retained for questioning upon his arrival in Israel after a visit to Iran. He admitted to being recruited by Iranian intelligence and accepting money from them.
According to Shin Bet officials, the man had not planned on notifying Israeli authorities about his relationship with the Iranians and said that Iranian officials instructed him to lure a relative who used to work for Israeli security agencies to Istanbul.
Iran has been working rigorously to recruit Israelis of Persian decent to spy against Israel, the Shin Bet claims. According to the claims, Iran has been targeting Israelis who travel to the country to visit relatives for the past two years.
Strangely enough, Iran is not considered an enemy state by Israel, so Israelis may travel there as they wish. More than 100 Israelis applied for visas to visit Iran in the last two years, 10 of whom the Shin Bet says were recruited as spies by the Iranians.
"The Iranians are collecting intensive intelligence on the state of Israel," a senior Shin Bet official told reporters, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Israelis who wish to visit Iran must pass through the Iranian Consulate in Turkey because Iran does not allow anyone with an Israeli stamp to enter the country. In Turkey, Israelis are issued the required documents or can get an Iranian passport.
According to the Shin Bet, Iranian intelligence agents pretending to be consular workers interrogate Israelis who arrive at the consulate for hours.
A Shin Bet official said, "Iran sees in these people a potential to materialize its interests by spying against Israel. When an Israeli arrives at the Consulate, he undergoes a prolonged questioning, during which he is asked about a range of topics, including the atmosphere in Israel, and political and social issues.
"We know of several incidents where Israelis were questioned under pressure for many hours," he added.
The Shin Bet identified several of the officers posing as consular workers as Takwi, also known as Abdulli, and another called Zinali.
In Iran, many times Israelis' travel documents are confiscated and they are forced to remain in the country for months. During this time, Iranians contact them again offering to help find their documents and leave Iran.
Once the documents are returned, the Israelis are asked to begin spying.
The Shin Bet reported that in one incident, an Israeli was threatened to be put in jail if he refused to cooperate. On other occasions, Israelis were offered large amounts of money in return for spying on Israel. One Israeli who was offered a large amount of money to assist the Iranian intelligence said the Iranians hinted that he could not refuse. Iranian intelligence has also, on occasion, arrested the Israeli's Iranian relatives in Iran.
The Shin Bet has encouraged Knesset to pass laws redefining Iran as an enemy state. |
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
