Against the backdrop of a surge in Iran-linked espionage cases across the IDF, Israel Hayom has learned that last week, a commander of an air defense battery in northern Israel gathered his troops and walked them through a series of espionage cases involving soldiers from within the corps in recent months – only some of which have been publicly reported.
The battery commander also disclosed to his troops a similar case currently under investigation. According to soldiers present, he told them he "trusts you as soldiers and hopes we won't do something like this" – reflecting his understanding that these are serious incidents that harm national security.
In parallel, the Israeli Air Force's air defense directorate recently circulated an internal letter sharpening its information security and cyber guidelines within the corps. "In light of the growing number of information security and cyber incidents in the directorate, we find it necessary to sharpen the guidelines," the letter stated. "Any suspected information security incident must be reported to the information security officers in the battalions, or to the directorate operations post." The letter was accompanied by an image listing specific directives.
Among the directives, the letter stated that soldiers "must not photograph at the various sites and deployment areas"; "do not identify yourselves as members of the directorate on social networks"; "report suspicious parties and do not share classified information with unauthorized individuals"; and "do not share military information with outside parties."
Two weeks ago, Raz Cohen, a 26-year-old Jerusalem resident who had been serving in reserves at one of the Iron Dome batteries, was arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses related to Iranian intelligence operatives and of carrying out security missions at their direction.
The investigation revealed that over several months, Cohen had been in contact with Iranian intelligence operatives and, at their direction, was asked to carry out a range of security missions – among them, transferring sensitive security information to which he had been exposed in the course of his duties.
In doing so, he passed on the locations of Israeli Air Force bases and Iron Dome batteries, as well as the personal details and contact information of several individuals, at the request of his handlers, in order to explore the possibility of recruiting them to collaborate with the Iranian party.
