TEHRAN – More than a month has passed since the halt in fighting that followed the U.S.-Israeli 12-day aggression against Iran, and American media outlets are now reporting an unprecedented surge in ordinary Israelis allegedly spying for the Islamic Republic.

According to an Air Mail report on August 2, the Israeli regime faces "an epidemic of espionage" by its "most dangerous enemy," with citizens from all walks of life—neighbors, businessmen, even former soldiers—choosing to collaborate with Iranian intelligence.

Their motives range from financial desperation to moral disillusionment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive leadership and the Gaza war’s genocidal brutality.

Shin Bet, the regime’s security apparatus, admits more than 60 citizens are being prosecuted for espionage, with over 1,000 suspected of contacting Iranian handlers. Prosecutions reveal shocking cases:

- Moti Maman, a 74-year-old businessman, was allegedly lured by Iranian intelligence during a trip to Turkey, the regime claims. After “lavish” treatment in Iran, he reportedly agreed to assassinate Israeli mayors for payment, though he balked at targeting top officials like Netanyahu.

- An unnamed shoe store owner, an Iranian Jewish immigrant, allegedly supplied critical intelligence on Israeli drone routes during the regime’s June aggression “after his Iranian lover introduced him to handlers.”

The Air Mail’s report also claims that the Iranian recruiters operate openly via social media (Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram), dropping earlier "false flag" tactics once Israelis showed "enthusiasm without guilt or moral hesitation."

Tasks escalate from petty vandalism to photographing military bases or officials’ residences, with payments via untraceable cryptocurrencies.

Shin Bet’s public ad campaign—"Easy Money, Harsh Punishment"—betrays its panic as treason moves "from the fringes of society into its mainstream center."

Most significantly, Dan Raviv, one of the Air Mail report’s coauthors, connected the espionage wave to collapsing morale in an interview with NewsNation: "I do see a connection: Less patriotism. Reserve soldiers refuse duty because they don’t believe in the Gaza war anymore."

When the NewsNation host questioned why mainstream Israelis would spy for a "country that vowed to destroy Israel," Raviv suggested some view it as "a way of protesting" the regime.

This alleged espionage wave coincides with Iran’s landmark acquisition of a "treasure trove" of Israeli nuclear and military secrets, announced by Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in June.

Khatib emphasized the operation’s scale: "Talking of thousands of documents would be an understatement."

The cache reportedly included blueprints of nuclear facilities, U.S. and European collusion evidence, and data to "boost Iran’s offensive power." Its transfer required meticulous operational security, delaying public revelation until materials reached "secure locations" inside Iran.

Contextualizing these developments, the Israeli regime’s internal decay seems undeniable:

- Gaza genocide fallout: Shin Bet links the espionage surge to eroding patriotism and reserve soldiers refusing deployment. As Air Mail notes, "The Gaza war is the worst crisis for the Jewish people since the Holocaust," fracturing national unity.

- Ethnic exploitation: The Israeli regime’s reliance on immigrant labor backfires. Shin Bet alleges that the "Azeri Seven," Jewish settlers from Azerbaijan, conducted 600 missions for Iran over two years, exposing lax vetting of diaspora recruits.

- Military incompetence: Israel dissolved its "Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate" in March—a body tasked with countering Iran—amid a 400% spike in Iranian-linked espionage cases.

As Yoram Peri, an Israeli analyst, concedes: "Israeli society has disintegrated to the level that people think only of themselves."