A U.S. man living in Israel has been charged with spying for Iran in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the State Attorney’s Office and an indictment filed on July 3, CNN reported. The
A U.S. man living in Israel has been charged with spying for Iran in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to the State Attorney’s Office and an indictment filed on July 3, CNN reported.
The suspect was an ultra-Orthodox student at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem who responded to a job posting on the Telegram app while visiting his family in the U.S. in November 2025, the authorities alleged.
Related: Treasury Secretary Bessent boasts of seizing $500 million in Iranian assets
When the man returned to Israel a month later, an Iranian intelligence agent got in touch with him on Telegram and began assigning him tasks such as taking photos and videos, as per the indictment. He received hundreds of dollars in crypto payments for the images, prosecutors claimed.
In one instance, the agent asked the American student to hide a cigarette packet with a note inside it saying “The job is complete” in a bathroom trash can in a mall in Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities claimed.
Though the young student ultimately blocked the Iranian agent, he made contact with another agent as per the authorities.
Prosecutors claim the American suspect received crypto funds worth approximately $1,379 from both Iranian intelligence agents.
Israel arrested the suspect on June 9 and pressed two counts of Contact with a Foreign Agent and 14 counts of Communicating Information to the Enemy that May be Useful to the Enemy.
Ronit Shentzer Yaakobi of the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office said, “This indictment illustrates how foreign intelligence agencies attempt to exploit the digital sphere to identify, recruit, and operate individuals from within Israel.”
As per CNN, the American student's lawyer told the publication that “not every person with whom a foreign actor makes contact via social media is an ‘atomic spy.’ The matters described in the indictment do not align with reality.”
Because of its anonymous nature, crypto infrastructure in West Asia has come under stress.
Last year, a pro-Israel hacking group stole over $90 million from Nobitex, the largest crypto exchange in Iran. Within a few days, Iranian missiles struck the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange building located in the Ramat Gan area in the capital.
In April, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent boasted of the United States seizing around $500 million worth of Iranian crypto assets.
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