ISRAEL — Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has arrested five Israelis of Iranian descent — four of them women — who allegedly worked for an Iranian intelligence agent, the agency said on Wednesday, January 12.


Citing the agency, the Jerusalem Post reports the agent, known as “Rambod Namdar,” approached the women on Facebook as an Iranian Jew and kept in touch with them for several years using encrypted messaging app WhatsApp.


One of the suspects, a woman in her forties, allegedly agreed to photograph the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, take pictures inside the Interior and Social Affairs ministries buildings, and photograph a shopping center in Holon.


She was also asked to encourage her son, who was about to be drafted, to serve in Military Intelligence.


Another suspect, a 57-year-old woman from Beit Shemesh, is alleged to have performed various tasks for a $5,000 payment.


She encouraged her son to serve in the Intelligence Corps and gave military documents belonging to him to “Rambod.”


The woman was also instructed to establish a club for Israelis of Iranian descent in order to gather their personal information and try to get close with a female member of Israel’s parliament.


She was instructed to install a hidden camera in a massage room at her home, apparently to collect potentially embarrassing footage of her clients.


The four women were indicted on charges of making contact with a foreign agent. They face maximum sentences of 15 years.


The defense attorneys say their clients did not know their handler was an Iranian agent.