A 21-year-old Jerusalem man has been indicted on security charges after allegedly gathering intelligence for an Iranian agent in exchange for cryptocurrency payments, the State Attorney’s Office announced.

Moshe Lachovitz was charged at the Jerusalem District Court after his arrest last month. According to the indictment, Lachovitz contacted the Iranian agent — who identified himself as “Michael” — while searching for work, and was subsequently tasked with documenting and photographing sites across Israel, including in Jerusalem and in Ra’anana, where former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett resides. He was paid thousands of dollars for the work, transferred via cryptocurrency.

The alleged intelligence gathering spanned the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025. Prosecutors say Lachovitz did not initially know “Michael” was an Iranian operative, but continued working for him after learning the truth.

The case is the latest in a string of Iranian recruitment operations targeting Israeli civilians, with Tehran increasingly using online job offers and cryptocurrency payments to turn ordinary citizens into intelligence assets.

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