News of the arrests came hours after authorities announced that seven Jewish Israeli citizens had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran.

The seven people, immigrants from Azerbaijan, were arrested in the Haifa region.

They are suspected of having carried out around 600 espionage missions, including the transmission of intelligence on military sites and energy infrastructure. Last week, four Israeli soldiers were killed in a drone attack by Iran’s ally Hezbollah on a military base near Binyamina in northern Israel. The base was among the sites spied on by the group, according to security services.

Although Iranian attempts to recruit local agents are not unusual, the alleged recruitment of Israeli Jews is very rare.

A Shin Bet and police statement said those arrested were “fully aware” that the intelligence they provided compromised national security and could potentially contribute to enemy missile attacks.

They received hundreds of thousands of dollars for the information, said police, who also described it as one of the most serious cases ever uncovered.

The latest arrests come amid an intensification of overt and covert activities between Israel and Iran, including intelligence and sabotage operations in the respective countries.

Israel reportedly penetrated Iranian security services, leading to attacks and assassinations. Iran occasionally announces the arrest of suspected Israeli intelligence agents and the dismantling of suspected Israeli spy cells, without providing substantial evidence.