Iran arrests eight people for suspected links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that it has detained eight people for passing sensitive information about military sites and senior commanders to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, state media reported.

According to the IRGC, the suspects allegedly provided details to Mossad during Israel’s air campaign in June, which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and killed several top commanders along with civilians — the deadliest blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.

Tehran responded at the time with missile strikes on Israeli cities, infrastructure and military installations.

The conflict drew in the United States on June 22, when Washington launched strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, before a US-brokered ceasefire ended the fighting.

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The Guards said the eight detainees had received specialized training from Mossad through online platforms and were apprehended in northeastern Iran before executing their plans. Security forces reportedly seized materials intended for making launchers, explosives, bombs and booby traps.

Iranian media previously reported that police had arrested up to 21,000 people during the 12-day war with Israel, though no details were given about the specific accusations against them. The conflict also saw intensified street patrols and widespread arrests.

In recent months, Iran has executed at least eight people on espionage charges, including nuclear scientist Rouzbeh Vadi, who was hanged on August 9 for allegedly leaking information to Israel about another scientist killed in Israeli strikes.