An Israeli citizen was arrested on suspicion that he was in contact with Iranian agents and carried out operations in Israel on their behalf for a monetary reward, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel police announced on Monday.
The 33-year-old Artium Zolotrav, a resident of Nof Hagalil, was arrested after he spray-painted graffiti in the area of his town as well as Haifa and Migdal Ha’emek.
The two organizations noted that the suspect’s interrogation revealed that he had been in contact with an individual dubbed “Eliad,” who proposed he spray paint graffiti against the Israeli government.
While carrying out dozens of such operations, the suspect filmed himself, sent the footage to “Eliad,” and subsequently erased the inscriptions.
His reward for such missions was $2,800 in cryptocurrency.
The suspect understood “Eliad” was an Iranian agent when he was asked to photograph residential buildings and burn vehicles and when he saw the stories of additional Israeli citizens who had been arrested after working for the Islamic Republic.
“Eliad” further asked the suspect to kill an individual for $125,000 and buy a weapon to transfer to a third party; the suspect refused; however, he did burn a vehicle in Haifa at the behest of the Iranian agent, receiving the sum of $2,000 in exchange.
‘Children of Ruhollah’
An additional Iranian agent named “Boaz Mar” was then introduced to the suspect, for whom he spray-painted graffiti in Haifa and Afula, which included the inscription “children of Ruhollah,” in reference to the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
He also torched an additional vehicle in Haifa, filmed it, and sent the footage to the Iranian agent.
An indictment is set to be filed against Zolotrav, the two organizations said.
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