Father and son operated an Iranian spy network in the Golan for years

December 6, 2024   

In November, the police and Shin Bet arrested two residents of Masada in the Golan Heights, on suspicion that they were recruited by Iranian elements and committed crimes of espionage and contact with a foreign agent during wartime. During the investigation, it emerged that Tahrir Safadi, a 21-year-old resident of the Druze settlement of Masada, a software engineering student, had been involved in recent years in gathering intelligence for the Shiite axis and under Iranian direction - all on behalf of his father Bassam Safadi. He collected information about IDF activities in the area, which was passed on to Hussam A-Salam Tawfiq Zidan, a journalist for the Iranian Al-Aalam channel, who lives in Damascus and has in recent years worked for the Palestine branch of the Iranian Quds Force, whose mission is to assist Palestinian organizations in order to promote terrorist activity against Israeli citizens. Tahrir and Bassem were operated by Hussam Zidan and, under his direction, carried out collection missions, including photographs of IDF forces, tank movements, armed soldiers, equipment, weapons, and more, which were transferred to their operator Zidan on behalf of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran. The investigation also revealed that Tahrir continued his security activities even during the war, including collecting information about the activities of IDF forces and even about the location of missile landings during the war. Following the Shin Bet and police investigation, a serious indictment was filed today (Friday) against Tahrir, accusing him of serious espionage offenses. In the case of Bassem Safadi, Tahrir's father, who was arrested and interrogated in the context of the affair, in the absence of a criminal alternative and given his high risk to state security and public safety, the Minister of Defense signed an order ordering his administrative detention. The investigation into the affair once again revealed the fact that elements of the Shiite axis, led by Iran, are working to promote terrorist activity in Israel and are exploiting residents of the State of Israel to recruit for espionage activities for their needs. "The General Security Service and the Israel Police view with great seriousness any connection to elements of the Shiite axis in general and Iran in particular, and espionage activities that endanger the security of the State of Israel and its residents, and will continue to act in accordance with the authority granted to them by law and to take all means at their disposal to thwart these threats and severely punish all those involved in them," it was stated. From the police and the Shin Bet.