Share and Follow
Over the weekend, Iranian officials announced the arrest of numerous individuals accused of espionage for Israel, spanning several provinces, as reported by state media.
Fars, a news agency connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), revealed on Sunday that the prosecutor’s office in West Azerbaijan had detained 20 people in the northwestern city of Urmia. These individuals are suspected of supplying Israel with intelligence concerning military, police, and security locations.
According to Tasnim, a semi-official news outlet, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence disclosed on Saturday that it had apprehended various “enemy operatives” throughout the nation. This includes a group of 10 individuals in Mazandaran province and another network of the same size in Khorasan Razavi province.
Authorities allege that the detainees transmitted information on the locations of military bases and economic infrastructure, as well as coordinates of public areas, academic institutions, and research centers, to Israel.
In a display of support for Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, successor to his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s supreme leader, policemen stand atop a patrol car during a rally in Tehran, Iran, on March 9, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
In southern Khuzestan province, intelligence officials also reported arresting a three-person “terrorist team” accused of carrying out armed attacks against security forces and government facilities.Â
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Israel has relied on tips from ordinary Iranians to identify targets for strikes inside Iran, citing a senior Israeli security official.
The newspaper said information about potential targets is sent through Israeli Persian-language social media accounts and is verified by Israeli authorities before strikes are carried out.
A woman holds an Iranian flag during the funeral and burial of Ali Shamkhani at Imamzadeh Saleh in northern Tehran, Iran, on March 14, 2026. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
In a separate development, Bahraini authorities said Sunday they arrested five people accused of passing sensitive information to the IRGC and helping recruit operatives for potential attacks inside the country.
According to a statement from Bahrain’s Police Media Center, the suspects allegedly collected and transmitted coordinates and images of sensitive locations, including hotels, to the IRGC.
Officials said one suspect previously received training at IRGC camps in “trafficking persons and recruiting operatives to participate in implementing terrorist plots.”
The five detainees were referred to Bahrain’s Public Prosecution, while a sixth suspect identified in the case is believed to be a fugitive abroad.