Prosecutors say the 14- and 16-year-olds carried out paid tasks for an Iran-linked handler, including gathering security details, spraying graffiti and seeking others for ‘high-risk’ missionsynet| Related TopicsThe 14- and 16-year-olds, both from Kiryat Motzkin in northern Israel, were charged in the Haifa District Juvenile Court. A court order prohibits publication of any information that could identify them.(Photo: Shutterstock)According to the indictment, filed by attorney Ilan Gamburg of the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office, one of the teenagers made contact in June 2026 through a Telegram group advertising jobs with a person who identified himself as “Daniel” and offered payment in exchange for carrying out assignments.The teenager later brought his friend into the activity. Prosecutors allege that the two continued cooperating on some of the assignments even after they began to suspect, and later knew, that the person directing them was acting on behalf of Iran.One of the teenagers allegedly photographed several locations in Israel, including shopping malls in the Herzliya and Tel Aviv areas. In one case, prosecutors say, he also provided the handler with information about the number of entrances and exits at a mall and the number of security guards stationed there.According to the indictment, the teenager later deleted footage he had sent because he feared the agent could use it to facilitate a terrorist attack.The two minors are also accused of spraying graffiti together in the Kiryat Motzkin area and sending photographs of it to the handler. At one point, one of the teenagers allegedly asked whether the man was Iranian. The handler replied that he was connected to Iran, but prosecutors say the contact continued.The indictment further alleges that the two attempted to expand the activity. One teenager used his friend’s Telegram account and posed as a soldier serving in the IDF’s Unit 8200 intelligence unit in an effort to receive additional assignments.After the handler asked them to recruit others, one of the teenagers allegedly began setting up a Telegram channel and asked his friend to bring in minors willing to undertake missions involving “high risk.”Prosecutors say the teenagers received payments worth hundreds of shekels for the activity, including through cryptocurrency.One of the minors has been charged with contact with a foreign agent, three counts of providing information for the benefit of the enemy and vandalism. The second has been charged with assisting contact with a foreign agent and vandalism.Comments