Israel claims arresting Iranian spy

Israel has said it has arrested a Belgian citizen of Iranian-origin accused of spying for Iran under the guise of a windows and roofing salesman.

Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service said the accused spy, identified as businessman Ali Mansouri, admitted that he was recruited by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force last year. He said that he was sent to Israel to set up business ties as a front for spying on Israeli and Western targets.

According to the Washington Post, the Shin Bet said Mansouri entered Israel on September 6 with a Belgian passport under the name Alex Mans. It added that he was arrested him five days later at Israel’s international airport as he was to board a flight to Europe. Shin Bet released photographs that it said were taken from the suspect’s camera that included exterior shots of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. 

According to the report, the security service released amateurish photographs it said Mansouri took of a cafe next to the US Embassy, a rooftop view of the embassy taken from a nearby building, and the baggage claim hall of the airport. Another photograph shows Mansouri posing on the Tel Aviv seaside boardwalk in a tight white polo shirt and short jeans shorts and clutching a map.