Israeli authorities arrested double American and Israeli citizens for allegedly spying on Iran, accusing him of sharing information about public figures and sending videos and photos of locations around the country to his handlers.
Yaakov Per, 49, was arrested earlier this month after an investigation by Singh Bett’s security agency and the National Crimes Division of the Israeli Police.
Perl has lived in Morocco in recent years, authorities said, and he first contacted the Iranian embassy by phone in 2017.
Police and Singh Bett said in a joint statement that Pal had requested asylum for himself and his family but no response was received. In 2023, he began engaging with Iranian news outlets on social media and publishing content critical of Israel and Zionism.
In January, Perl wrote an article that stated that authorities supported Hezbollah after Israel killed the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
After the article was published, he was approached by an Iranian operative and authorities say he agreed to cooperate. When Perl was unable to recruit people in Israel and work with him, authorities say they traveled to Israel itself in July and began gathering intelligence in the direction of Iranian handlers.
“He provided the Iranians with information about Israeli public figures and citizens, including former IDF Chiefs of Staff Herzi Halevi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gwil,” said police and Singh Bett. “As part of his activities, Perl also took photos and videos of various streets and locations across Israel. He was paid in cryptocurrency for his work.”
The statement said Pearl’s actions were “all based on ideological motivations and opposition to Zionism.”
Asked about Perl’s arrest, a US State Department spokesman said “it is prioritized over the safety and security of US citizens.”
“Every time a US citizen is detained overseas, the agency works to provide consul support in accordance with our responsibility under US law and US international law,” the spokesman added that there will be no further comment due to privacy concerns.
A police spokesman said since October 7, Israeli police have been involved in investigating more than 25 cases related to Iran-related spying, resulting in around 46 arrests.
