Hundreds of Israeli citizens were called by Iran’s intelligence agency in an attempt to recruit them, police said on Saturday.
“Hundreds of citizens” reported that they received calls from unknown numbers on Saturday morning, Israeli police said in a statement. When they picked up, they said, “People spoke to them and offered to recruit them to an Iranian organization.”
A suspected recording of one such phone call was posted on Israeli news site Ynet. In it, the robot voice tells listeners that “Iranian intelligence agency is looking for qualified agents,” providing “competitive pay and comprehensive security.”
CNN contacted Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Police said the call was “intended to raise vigilance among the public during the war,” adding that it “represents an attempt by Iran’s intelligence reporting element to recruit Israeli citizens both domestically and internationally with the aim of promoting intelligence gathering and terrorist activities in Israel.”
Last year, Israeli authorities said an unprecedented number of citizens were arrested for spying on Iran.
Although some people are said to have been adopted via social media, Iran is reportedly spamming telegram accounts in messages in the hopes that some recruitment offers will be accepted, police said.
Former Mossad employee Oded Allam told CNN in December that Iran was interested in casting a wider range of nets than recruiting skilled operatives.
“They say to themselves: ‘Well, if they fail here, we’ll go to the next one.’ And they don’t really care about the outcome,” Aram said.
Since Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, Israeli police have investigated more than 25 Iran-related spying activities, leading to around 46 arrests, police spokesman Dean Elsdun told CNN this week.
In connection with Saturday’s call, Israeli police urged the public to “keep vigilance” and reported “an extraordinary incident” to authorities.
“We will continue to act to find and stop terrorists and espionage in Israel and abroad, ensuring that all involved are guided by justice,” authorities said in a statement Saturday.
