Petah Tikva resident suspected of spying for Iran

In yet another exposed Iranian espionage plot, Alexander Granovsky, a 29-year-old from Petah Tikva, is accused for spying and sabotage, court documents filed Monday said.

The indictment is expected to be filed against him on Friday.

"I need money – they pay and I do it," he said during his investigation. The suspect has a criminal past, having been involved in drugs, violence, and theft. He was previously sentenced to nine months in prison for earlier crimes.

According to the investigation by the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Police's Lahav 433 Unit, the suspect apparently made contact via the Telegram app with Iranian handlers who activated him to commit a series of missions. This included spraying graffiti against the government and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he wrote "Children of Ruhollah," referring to the first name of late Iranian supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini. He also perpetrated acts of arson and collected intelligence for his handlers. He also set eight vehicles on fire at different times and in different places, mainly operating in central Israel cities such as Ashdod, Rosh HaAyin, Ra'anana, and Hadera. In addition, he filmed the entrance to former minister Benny Gantz's home, handed the footage to his operators, and forwarded the phone number of a former high-ranking figure.

Granovsky kept asking his operators for more and more tasks, for some of which he received no payment at all. For two weeks he set fires or gathered intelligence almost every day. However, he was not willing to set fire to a police car or an ambulance, as he was afraid. He said in his investigation that he refused to kill people but had no problem shooting at vehicles. His investigation revealed that he understood to whom he was speaking and that his goal was to harm the state's security. In addition, when asked if he understands that someone could have been hurt, he replied yes.

"The security bodies of the State of Israel are restoring and warning Israeli citizens and residents against maintaining contact with foreign elements and performing tasks for them," the Shin Bet and Israel Police said in a statement. "All security bodies will act aggressively to enforce the law against all those involved in such activity. The public is asked to continue and report any suspicious approach received from an unidentified source to perform 'jobs' and various tasks."