An Israeli arrested in April on suspicion of conducting intelligence-gathering missions on behalf of Iran was involved in a plot to assassinate Defense Minister Israel Katz, it was revealed on Saturday, marking the latest development in a widening Iranian espionage campaign inside Israel.
The suspect, 24-year-old Roy Mizrahi, placed powerful explosives somewhere near Katz’s home in the town of Kfar Ahim as part of an “Iranian plot to assassinate him,” Channel 12 reported.
It said he has been charged with “aiding an enemy at a time of war.”
The explosives were intended to detonate when Katz passed close by, Channel 12 reported, alleging that the Iranians were “very close to succeeding.”
However, the report did not specify how close to Katz’s home Mizrahi placed the explosives, nor did it state that the explosives were primed to detonate, indicating that Mizrahi’s action was not the final stage in the plot.
The report said, without elaborating, that the plot against Katz was one of several Iranian plans to target senior Israelis that were being put in place by Iran in the event of war.
The report detailed how Mizrahi was recruited via a Telegram channel and then roped in a friend, Almog Atias.
Atias, also 24, was arrested with Mizrahi back in April following a joint investigation by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit. Both men are residents of Nesher, near Haifa.
Initially, the two men filmed various locations, including the Shin Bet headquarters and the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv, at the behest of an Iranian agent named Alex, Channel 12 said.
They were then asked to place two spy cameras in Katz’s hometown, Kfar Ahim, in southern-central Israel. They collected the cameras from a home in Holon and went to install them, but were spooked when a security vehicle with flashing lights drove by, and they instead tossed the cameras into some bushes.
Mizrahi was then asked to assassinate a scientist at the Weizmann Institute for a payment of $1 million, but he refused to do so after “Alex” declined to pay him half the sum in advance.
Subsequently, Mizrahi was contacted by a second Iranian agent, named Getz, who tasked him with placing the explosives near Katz’s home.
Mizrahi collected a blue bag with the explosives from a location not specified in the report and transported it to a spot near Katz’s home.
He was reportedly paid in cryptocurrency for doing so.
According to the report, Mizrahi also took a brick of the explosives home with him.
His lawyer told Channel 12 he was a foolish youth who had caused no harm to state security.
Following his arrest earlier this year, Israeli officials said Mizrahi had been in contact with Iranian operatives throughout 2025 and carried out a series of security-related missions — some alongside Atias — fully aware they were acting under Iranian direction.
Superintendent Maor Goren said in Saturday’s report that, time after time throughout the recent 12-day war with Iran, it became clear that the Islamic Republic was targeting sites that had been filmed for it by Israeli spies.
There has been a rise in recent months of Israelis being arrested and charged with carrying out acts of espionage on behalf of Iran.
Most recently, three Israelis were arrested last week amid the conflict with Iran. One of the suspects is believed to have gathered intelligence on the future daughter-in-law of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hebrew media reported, and another is believed to have photographed the homes of public officials and military bases.
In May, 18-year-old Moshe Attias of Yavne was charged with spying on former prime minister Naftali Bennett while the latter was hospitalized.
Additionally, in January, authorities said they arrested two IDF reservists — Yuri Eliasfov and Georgi Andreyev, both 21 — for allegedly passing sensitive material about the Iron Dome missile defense system to Iran in exchange for payments as small as $50.