The Shin Bet Arrests a Russian Worker for Spying for Iran

Translation by SadaNews - The Israeli Security Agency "Shin Bet" revealed on Friday that it has arrested a foreign worker from Russia on suspicion of spying for Iran.

According to a statement from Shin Bet, as translated by SadaNews, the Russian detainee Vitaly Zbyagnitsev (30 years old) was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of committing security offenses directed by Iranian intelligence agencies.

According to the statement, the Russian worker had been in contact since last October with his handler from the Iranian intelligence who referred to himself as "Roman" and claimed at the time to be residing in Russia. He asked the worker to carry out espionage tasks, including photographing sensitive locations and infrastructure sites such as ports, in exchange for financial payments.

The statement indicated that the Russian worker performed these acts while being aware that "Roman's" requests to photograph various sites in the country were espionage tasks from parties seeking to harm Israel, yet he continued to execute additional tasks received from his handler for economic reasons.

It was noted that a serious indictment against the Russian worker will be presented today before the Central Court in Tel Aviv.