JERUSALEM, July 15 — The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had sentenced an active-duty soldier to five years in prison for sending videos of missile interceptions to an Iranian agent.
The soldier sent two such videos during the 12-day war with Iran in June last year and “received payment for them,” the military said.
It added that he had also shared several videos filmed in civilian locations with the Iranian agent.
The footage sent from civilian locations included one documenting a missile impact that the soldier had found online, the military said.
“Eventually, after feeling pressured, the defendant informed someone in his military unit that he had been in contact with a foreign agent,” the military said.
“The following day, he was arrested by the Shin Bet,” it said, without specifying exactly when the arrest took place.
The soldier was contacted through his Telegram account, where he received messages that included job offers.
The messages also included an offer from an Iranian agent asking whether he would like to earn money “by carrying out photography-related tasks,” it said.
Military prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison sentence for the soldier, whose identity was not disclosed.
“The court took into account that the defendant had not transmitted military information or information obtained through his military duties, that he himself terminated the contact with the foreign agent, and that he promptly reported the contact to his commanders,” the military said.
“The court sentenced the defendant to five years’ imprisonment, along with a suspended prison sentence, a fine of 1,000 shekels (US$335), and reduction in rank to Private.”
In June 2025, Israel attacked its arch-foe Iran in a war that lasted 12 days and also saw Tehran firing missiles at Israel.
Israel’s ally, the United States, entered the war during its final days.
The two allies struck Iran for the second time on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the campaign. — AFP
Telegram chat lands Israeli soldier in prison for sending missile videos to alleged Iranian contact
