Israel has arrested two soldiers on suspicion of spying for Iran in return for money, its police force said on Monday.

The primary suspect was said to have served in the IDF’s Iron Dome air defence unit and is alleged to have begun passing on classified material to an Iranian handler in September 2024.

He is alleged to have recruited a friend who served in the military’s Tel Aviv headquarters and to have put him in touch with an Iranian contact.

Both suspects are also alleged to have sprayed pro-Iran graffiti and hung banners in Tel Aviv carrying the slogan, Children of Ruhollah, referring to Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of Iran after the 1979 revolution.

The two men, both 21, were charged with transferring classified information and aiding the enemy during wartime, police said.

Israeli authorities have arrested a number of alleged Iranian spies in recent months.

In October last year, seven Israeli citizens were arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran on Israeli army bases and gathering information on the Iron Dome missile defence system.

The system plays a vital part of Israel’s air defence capabilities and has been used to take down missiles trained on the country’s civilian centres.