Iran’s judiciary said Monday that a dual national arrested during the recent 12-day war with Israel has been referred to trial on charges of spying for the enemy.
The judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency did not name the defendant, describing him only as a “dual national who lives in a European country” and was arrested in Iran during the June war.
Iran does not recognize dual nationality and tries holders of its passport based on Iranian law.
The judiciary said a court had begun hearing his case, in which he is accused of “intelligence cooperation and espionage in the interest of the Zionist regime.”
According to Mizan, the defendant entered Iran one month before the conflict, which erupted when Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, striking military and nuclear sites, as well as top commanders and scientists in residential areas. Israel said it was acting to thwart an immediate existential threat from Iran’s nuclear program and that Tehran had been taking concrete steps toward assembling an atomic bomb.
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The attack triggered a 12-day conflict in which Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israeli military sites and cities, and later saw the United States join Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites.
The scene of an Iranian ballistic missile impact at an apartment building in Beersheba, days after the attack on June 28. 2025 (Courtesy of Elior Cohen)
Mizan said investigations indicated the defendant had been in contact with the Mossad spy agency and had been trained as an agent in “the capitals of several European countries and the occupied territories” — a reference to Israel.
“Sophisticated espionage and intelligence equipment were found at the time of his arrest and in the villa where he was staying,” it added, without elaborating.
During the war, Iranian authorities announced at least three arrests of Europeans, including Lennart Monterlos, a 19-year-old French-German cyclist, who was later released.
In October, Iran passed a law that toughened penalties for those convicted of spying on behalf of Israel and the United States.
The text of the law stipulates that “any intelligence or espionage activity” for Israel, the US, or other governments and groups deemed hostile to Iran “shall be punishable by confiscation of all assets… and by the death penalty.”
Iran, which has repeatedly vowed to destroy Israel, claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, according to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency it has enriched uranium to levels that have no civilian purpose and that Western analysts say are just a short technical step from weapons-grade. It has also halted its cooperation with IAEA inspectors of its nuclear sites.
Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets fly over Israel en route to carry out strikes in Iran, in a handout photo published on June 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
Since the war, Iran has vowed swift trials for those suspected of collaborating with Israel, announcing multiple arrests and the execution of at least nine people convicted on such charges.
Iran does not recognize Israel and has long accused it of carrying out sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities, as well as assassinating its scientists.
The war derailed high-level diplomacy between Tehran and Washington aimed at reaching a new deal over Iran’s nuclear program.
The June war was the first sustained conflict between Iran and Israel after sporadic tit-for-tat attacks in 2024 that stopped short of open warfare.
A US-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect on June 24.
Israeli authorities also accuse Iran of working to recruit spies in the country. Over the past two years, dozens of Israelis have been charged with espionage on behalf of Iran. In many of the cases, Iranian agents recruited Israelis via social media, specifically the Telegram messaging app.
In the most recent case, an Ashkelon man was charged on suspicion of spying for Iran over the course of several months.
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