In a joint operation last month, the Israel Security Agency (ISA/Shin Bet) and the Israel Police's Northern District apprehended Artyom Zolotarev, a 33-year-old resident of Nof Hagalil in northern Israel, on suspicion of committing security offenses on behalf of Iranian intelligence.
Zolotarev is accused of maintaining contact with an individual known as "Eliad," a suspected Iranian intelligence operative, and performing tasks at their request in exchange for financial compensation. The investigation revealed that Zolotarev vandalized multiple locations in Nof Hagalil, Haifa, and Migdal Ha'emek, and set a car ablaze in Haifa.
Authorities allege that in October, Zolotarev was recruited online by "Eliad," who instructed him to spray anti-government graffiti aimed at influencing Israel's political climate. Zolotarev complied, targeting dozens of sites, documenting the acts in photos and videos, and sending them to "Eliad" before erasing the graffiti to avoid detection. He received $2,800 in cryptocurrency as payment.
Zolotarev reportedly declined other requests from "Eliad," including photographing apartment complexes and power transformers and burning additional vehicles. It was only after seeing a TikTok video about similar espionage arrests—such as Motti Maman, who traveled to Iran to meet with intelligence agents, and Vladislav Victorson and Anna Bernstein, who performed tasks for Iranian operatives—that Zolotarev realized "Eliad" was connected to Iranian intelligence.
* Arutz 7 contributed to this article.
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