An indictment was filed Sunday against Doron Buchobza, a Be'er Sheva resident in southern Israel, accused of initiating contact with Iranian intelligence and offering to sell them sensitive information, falsely claiming he had access to the Negev Nuclear Research Center.
Buchobza was arrested in February 2025 during a joint operation by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet after being suspected of committing security offenses involving communication with Iranian regime intelligence operatives and performing tasks under their direction in exchange for financial compensation.
The investigation revealed that for several months, Buchovza maintained contact with Iranian intelligence agents and carried out multiple security-related missions at their direction, including photographing facilities and transferring information. He misrepresented himself to his Iranian handler by pretending to have access to the classified and sensitive Nuclear Research Center facility and provided publicly available information related to this installation.
The investigation further established that Buchobza initiated this contact with full awareness that he was communicating with an Iranian handler and that his actions could potentially harm state security. An attorney from the Southern District Prosecutor's Office filed charges against him for contact with a foreign agent and providing information to an enemy.
According to the indictment, Buchobza established contact with Iranian profiles on Telegram in December 2024 that were identified with the "International Secret Agency of Iran" (ISAI). In his initial message to the Iranian agent, Buchovza wrote: "I am Israeli, and I want to work with you," explaining his motivation stemmed from economic hardships and dissatisfaction with the government.
Buchobza sent the Iranian agent various videos and images, including photographs of supermarket product prices, while claiming he worked at a "classified and sensitive facility." He shared information about the Negev Nuclear Research Center and attached pictures of a communications cabinet from his actual workplace while falsely presenting himself as being responsible for "heavy water." The defendant also suggested meeting the agent outside Israel.
The indictment states that during these exchanges, Buchobza received digital currency worth $1,057 (3,750 shekels) from the Iranian agent, which he transferred to his personal digital account.
In late January 2025, after learning about the arrest of two soldiers suspected of spying for Iran, Buchobza temporarily deleted the conversations and blocked contact with the Iranian agent. However, he soon renewed communication, messaging: "Hey, sorry I blocked you, they just caught 2 soldiers who worked with you so I preferred to delete everything." Following this, he voluntarily sent a video of water tanks under construction that he recorded with his mobile phone.
Days before his arrest, on February 5, Buchovza attempted to terminate the contact, writing: "The Mossad came to my workplace and said someone is giving you details, I'm stopping our conversations the money isn't worth the risk." Nevertheless, several days later, he shared information about an alleged upcoming attack on nuclear facilities in Iran, claiming he received this intelligence "from a senior official."
