The ISA and Israel Police arrested two residents of the Druze village of Mas'ada, on suspicion that they gathered intelligence on IDF operations in the area on behalf of Iran's Quds Force.
The arrests, carried out in November, were due to suspicions that the pair committed crimes of espionage and contacted a foreign agent during wartime, the Friday statement added.
During the investigation, it became clear that Tahrir Safdi, a 21-year-old software engineering student, was involved in recent years in gathering intelligence for the Shiite axis and acted under Iranian guidance at the behest of his father Basam Safdi.
He gathered information about IDF operations in the area, and transferred the information to Hussam a-Sala'am Tufik Zidan, a journalist for Iran's Al-Alam News Network and a resident of Damascus. For the past several years, Zidan has been working for the Iranian Quds Force's "Falastin Division," which aims to aid the Palestinian Arab organizations in order to advance terror activities against the citizens of Israel.
The Safdis acted as agents for Hussam Zidan, and under his instruction conducted activities to gather information, including photos of IDF forces, tank movements, armed soldiers, equipment, weapons, and more. These were transferred to Zidan of the Quds Force, which operates under the IRGC.
The investigation also revealed that Tahrir continued his security activities even during the war, including gathering information about IDF operations and even about the sites of rocket strikes throughout the war.
Upon completion of the investigation, a severe indictment was filed against Tahrir by the Northern District Prosecutor's Office, charging him with serious crimes of espionage.
Regarding Basam, Tahrir's father, who was arrested and interrogated as part of these operations, due to the lack of a criminal alternative and in light of the high level of threat he presents to the State's security, the Defense Minister signed an order to issue him an administrative detention.
The investigation revealed once again the fact that sources in the Shiite axis, led by Iran, are operating to advance terror activities in Israel and are using the residents of the State of Israel to enlist them to carry out espionage operations to serve their needs.
"The ISA and Israel Police take very seriously any connection to sources in the Shiite axis in general and Iran in particular, and operations of espionage endanger the State of Israel's security and its residents, and will continue to act in accordance with the authority granted them and use every means available in order to thwart these threats and bring to justice all those involved in them," the ISA and Israel Police stressed.