IDF Iron Dome Operator Arrested, Charged With Spying For Iran

There’s quite obviously been Israeli intelligence inroads into Iran, which at times US and Israeli officials themselves have boasted about, with Tehran recently announcing efforts to round up and arrest “traitors” – and there’s even in some cases been executions of the accused.

Inside Israel, there are also fears of locals spying for Israel – but the phenomenon remains much less common (as far as anyone knows). That’s why the latest headlines are likely a shock to the Israeli establishment. On Friday an Israeli reservist tied to the country’s missile defense network has been charged with serious security offenses after allegedly working with Iranian intelligence.

Police have identified Raz Cohen, a 26-year-old from Jerusalem, who served in the Iron Dome unit, as the alleged culprit. It’s been revealed he was arrested March 1, merely one day after the joint US-Israel war on Iran kicked off. “These included passing sensitive security information to the Iranian agent during December 2025, including details about how Iron Dome works, locations of Israeli Air Force bases, and the locations of Iron Dome batteries,” writes Times of Israel.

As for the period of time in which the alleged spying took place, authorities indicate it took place several months before the outbreak of the current war, and that Cohen knew exactly who he was communicating with, but is believed to have merely received $1000 in cryptocurrency.

Israeli law designates that assisting the enemy during wartime carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; but in some exceptional cases the death penalty can be handed down.

Prosecutors say he was in contact for months with Iranian handlers, who tasked him with carrying out “a variety of security missions” – including passing along sensitive defense information he accessed during his service.

According to some observations in The Telegraph:

A police statement announcing the charges warned citizens against having contact with agents from enemy countries, and pointed out the particular risk of agents making contact via social media.

Israel itself is thought to make widespread use of social media to approach and recruit agents in Iran.

According to intelligence sources speaking before the current campaign, many Iranians who end up passing information to Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, never realize they are working for Israel.

These fresh reports of the Raz Cohen are huge, given Israel’s air defenses have been immensely strained by the sustained Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks which have been ongoing, and ebbing and flowing, since Iran was attacked by the US and Israel three weeks ago.

We are starting to see why Hezbollah has had such success in bypassing Iron Dome. Raz Cohen, a reserve soldier in the Iron Dome unit, has been arrested for providing Iran with classified information. This had been going on for months, in return for financial renumeration when he…

— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) March 20, 2026

There are also reports that portions of the Israeli citizenry are angry and frustrated, many now living their lives in underground bomb shelters, as casualties mount. The Netanyahu government has come under accusations of underestimating the Iranian missile threat, and giving false assurances to the public. Did Iran have an advantage by utilizing spies in Israel who had access to key elements of defensive systems, exposing weaknesses? It appears so, the Cohen case suggests, at least to some degree.