Authorities in Israel arrested seven Israeli citizens who are accused of carrying out hundreds of espionage missions on behalf of Iran, including gathering intelligence on sensitive military sites inside the country and identifying potential human targets for Tehran.

The suspects are all Jewish residents of Haifa and other areas of northern Israel. They include an Israeli soldier who had deserted the military and two minors.

According to the Times of Israel, the adult suspects have been identified as Azis Nisanov, Alexander Sadykov, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe, and Yigan Nissan.

On Monday, state prosecutors in Israel called the espionage ring one of the most serious intelligence cases they have investigated in several years.

The suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information on several Israel Defense Forces bases, including the Kirya — Israel’s Pentagon — and Iron Dome battery sites.

One of the locations where they are believed to have gathered intelligence for Iran is an Israeli Golani Brigade army post where four soldiers were recently killed in a Hezbollah drone attack, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The accused spies were reportedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, some in cryptocurrency. Israeli prosecutors said some of the accused had been spying for Iran for at least two years while all carried out espionage activities since the start of the country’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah, the Times of Israel said.

Formal charges are expected to be filed by the end of the week. They include assisting the enemy during wartime, the Jerusalem Post said.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.