Iran On Edge Over Israeli Spy Threat, Warns Public About Strangers in Masks, Goggles

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Last Updated:June 17, 2025, 13:58 IST

Iran's Intelligence Ministry warns citizens about potential Israeli spies amid heightened tensions. Dozens arrested for alleged spying and supporting Israel

Iran miscalculated Israeli strikes (AP Image)

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has urged its citizens to be wary of strangers wearing masks or goggles, driving pickup trucks, carrying large bags, or filming around military, industrial, or residential areas. The reason: Iran believes they might be Israeli spies.

The Islamist regime has arrested dozens of people on suspicion of spying amid fears of infiltration by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service in the wake of heightened tensions between the two countries.

Since Israeli strikes began Friday, the Iranian regime has also arrested scores of people across the country for allegedly sharing articles online “in support of the Zionist regime" – accusing them of disrupting the “psychological security of society" – including 60 people in Isfahan, where Israel claims to have targeted a nuclear site.

The wave of arrests comes as Tehran reels from the revelation that Mossad operatives smuggled weapons into Iran before Israel’s unprecedented attack and used them to target the country from within.

Elsewhere, a poster published by the state-affiliated Nour News – which is close to Iran’s security apparatus – singled out for suspicion people who wear “masks, hats, and sunglasses, even at night" and those who receive “frequent package deliveries by courier."

The poster asks people to report “unusual sounds from inside the house, such as screaming, the sound of metal equipment, continuous banging" and “houses with curtains drawn even during the day."

Another poster, attributed to the police and published on state media, advised landlords who had recently rented their homes to notify the police immediately.

Meanwhile, journalists in Iran have told CNN they are prohibited from taking pictures on the street.

The fears of Israeli penetration only amplify the anxieties felt by the increasingly isolated leadership of the Islamic Republic, which has been rocked in recent years by anti-regime protests sparked by the death of a young woman in the custody of the country’s so-called morality police.

The same force used to crack down on those protests, the Basij (a paramilitary wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard) has been deployed in night patrols to increase “surveillance" in the wake of the Israeli infiltration, according to Iran’s state-controlled media.

Mossad Smuggled Weapons Into Iran Ahead Of Friday Strikes

Israeli intelligence agency Mossad had smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of the strikes on Friday to target Iran’s defence from within, according to Israeli security officials.

The officials said Israel established a base for launching explosive drones inside Iran, and the drones were later used to target missile launchers near Tehran. Precision weapons were also smuggled in and used to target surface-to-air missile systems, clearing the way for Israel’s Air Force to carry out more than 100 strikes with upward of 200 aircraft in the early hours of Friday local time.

The plan to disable Iranian defences seems to have been effective; Israel said all of its aircraft returned safely from the first waves of strikes, appearing to show Israeli air superiority over parts of a country hundreds of miles away.

Intelligence gathered by the Mossad in Iran also gave Israel’s air force the ability to target senior Iranian commanders and scientists.

In an incredibly rare move, the Mossad released video from some of its operations, showing drones attacking what appear to be unsuspecting missile launchers.

It is the latest operation to show how deeply Israel’s intelligence services, including the Mossad, have penetrated some of Iran’s most closely guarded secrets. The operations have made the Mossad appear a nearly unstoppable force in Iran, capable of hitting at some of its highest-ranking officials and most sensitive sites.

(With input from agencies)

Saurabh Verma

Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19

Location :

Tehran, Iran

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News world Iran On Edge Over Israeli Spy Threat, Warns Public About Strangers in Masks, Goggles

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