Doron Buchbaza, 29, a Be’er Sheva resident and engineer at Haifa Chemicals South, was charged Sunday with contacting a foreign agent and transferring information to an enemy, according to an indictment filed by state prosecutors at the Be’er Sheva District Court. He was arrested last month in a joint operation by Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency.
through Telegram, messaging profiles displaying the Iranian flag. “I am an Israeli and I want to work with you,” he wrote according to the charges. From December until his arrest in February, he allegedly carried out various tasks for his Iranian handler, including photographing sensitive sites. He also falsely presented himself as having access to the Negev Nuclear Research Center and provided publicly available details about the facility.
Authorities allege Buchbaza initiated the contact, fully aware that he was engaging with Iranian intelligence operatives and that his actions could harm national security. At the request of his handler, he filmed himself making a hand gesture on a Be’er Sheva street and later took videos of supermarket prices, earning small payments in cryptocurrency. The indictment states he later escalated his activities, offering to meet his handler abroad and sending a photo of a communications rack, falsely claiming it was linked to a nuclear facility.
arrest of two Israeli IDF soldiers in the reserves accused of similar offenses, Buchbaza reportedly deleted his exchanges with the Iranian handler, only to reestablish contact later. At one point, he warned his handler of an pending Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites, claiming he had inside knowledge.
“Iranian intelligence and terrorist operatives continue efforts to recruit Israelis for espionage and security-related tasks,” the statement said, highlighting social media as a primary recruitment tool. “Israeli security agencies will continue to identify and thwart Iranian operations and will ensure those involved face the full extent of the law.”