It has been cleared for publication that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Services) has caught an Iranian operative red handed attempting to establish a network of infrastructure for clandestine Iranian activities.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the suspect is Thaar Shafout, a 32-year old Jordanian citizen, who originally hails from Hebron. During his interrogation, Shafout confessed to setting up infrastructure in Israel as well as Judea and Samaria for the purposes of operating a secret Iranian spy network.

Shafout originally made contact with two Iranian assets in Jordan who went under the names ‘Abu Tsadek’ and ‘Abu Jaffar’. He reportedly met with them on other occasions in both Syria and Lebanon in 2018. The two handlers told Shafout to establish businesses in Israel to use as cover for Iranian espionage throughout the Jewish state. He was also instructed to recruit more assets throughout Israel to help further Iran’s spying efforts. Shafout managed to succeed in establishing a plant in Israel for Shi’ites exclusively that could later be used as a base for the planned Iranian spy network. His handlers provided Shafout with an initial investment of $500,000 to acquire the plant and at a more later stage, to create a network of spies in the field. He communicated with Tsadek and Jaffar through encrypted means.

The goal was to use Shafout to transfer funds to Iranian backed terrorists throughout Israel and Judea and Samaria. When his work was complete, they intended to bring him back to Iran to complete his training as a spy.

Shafout was indicted earlier this month on various charges including: contact with a hostile organization, contact with an enemy among other things.