In short
- A 21-year-old American man has been indicted in Israel on espionage charges – the first such charge against a US citizen amid a series of espionage charges linked to Iran.
- Prosecutors say Lavon was recruited via telegram, photographed sensitive areas and left hidden objects containing written messages to Iranian operatives, and was paid in cryptocurrency.
- Lavon faces charges of contacting a foreign agent and communicating information useful to the enemy; His lawyer argues that the act is espionage.
An American citizen studying at an ultra-Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem has been charged with espionage, in what authorities say is the first US criminal case amid a growing uproar over Israelis being hired to spy on Iran.
Eli Lavon, 21, was charged Friday with two counts of contacting a foreign agent and 14 counts of communicating information likely to benefit an enemy, according to an indictment filed by the Attorney General’s Office, as reported. CNN.
Prosecutors say the case began in November 2025, when Lavon, while visiting relatives in the United States, answered a job posting on the Telegram messaging app. A month later, while he was returning to Israel, a man claiming to represent Iranian intelligence contacted him and began asking him to do surveillance work, the indictment says.
The projects reportedly include painting an abandoned building in a religious community in Jerusalem and taking pictures inside a grocery store. On one occasion, prosecutors say, Lavon was told to hide a pack of cigarettes with the words “Job Done” in a garbage can at a Jerusalem shopping mall.
He was paid in cryptocurrency for services he provided, communication through two Telegram accounts and three phones, according to the charges.
After cutting off the interaction, prosecutors say Lavon began communicating with a second agent linked to Iran, hiding a flash drive wrapped in cash at a restaurant and sending a photo of his passport. The employee pressed him to name his fellow seminary students, which Lavon refused to give, who are against him. Prosecutors say the payments from both parties totaled $1,379.
“This case shows how foreign intelligence agencies try to use digital technology to identify, record, and track people from Israel,” said Ronit Shentzer Yaakobi of the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office, “and the need to be vigilant and stop communicating quickly when approached in this way.”
Lavon’s lawyer, Raz Bar Tzvi, said CNN that being connected to the Internet by a foreign actor does not make one a spy, and argued that the information contained in the document was inconsistent with the charges. He declined to say how his client would plead.
Israel has indicted about 60 people on espionage charges related to Iran since 2023; Officials said several sites allegedly targeted by those in charge were later hit by Iranian missiles.
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