'No reasonable explanation': Tel Aviv man indicted over spying for Iran

This whole time, Beilin “was aware that he was carrying out orders from an enemy agent against the State of Israel, all for pay,” reads the indictment.

State prosecutors on Thursday indicted Or Beilin, 27, from Tel Aviv, for alleged contact with a foreign agent in carrying out assignments and acts directed by an Iranian agent.

Beilin, originally from Be’er Yaacov, was arrested on June 22, the same day two other men were apprehended for similar suspicions. Dozens of such cases have been handled by authorities since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War in October 2023.

The contact Beilin had with an Iranian intelligence agent on Telegram spanned from November 2024 until February 2025. During this time, Beilin “was aware that he was carrying out orders from an enemy agent against the State of Israel, all for pay,” reads the indictment.

The agent originally asked if Beilin was interested in committing such acts in exchange for cryptocurrency, to which Beilin replied yes.

Throughout this period, Beilin allegedly sprayed graffiti messages at different locations throughout the country. The messages were a mix of sentiments of “the people’s army” and criticisms against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in favor of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to the indictment, on November 13, 2024, Beilin graffitied, “Bibi [Netanyahu] is the enemy of humanity,” and on November 21, wrote, “KHAMENEI BASIJ OF TLV.”

Received funds in cryptocurrency

For each graffiti message, Beilin received between NIS 70 and NIS 100 in cryptocurrency. The suspect would document his acts as proof and send them to the agent.

He also, throughout this time, allegedly hid sums of money at various locations throughout the country. For each act, Beilin received between NIS 100 and NIS 200 in cryptocurrency, which he transferred and withdrew as cash. He documented these acts for proof as well.

At two points in time, Beilin, under instruction, purchased two surveillance cameras, set them up at specific locations, and passed on some of what they captured to ensure their quality, the indictment states. For each such quality check, Beilin received NIS 150.

Beilin conducted dozens of such checks, but because the agent wasn’t pleased with the results of the footage, the cameras were never hidden in permanent spots.

Between November 25 and 26, Beilin inquired as to the purchase of a drone to hide it in a specific spot. He sent a photo of one such prospective drone, but never carried out the assignment.

On December 15, Beilin took an IDF uniform and filmed himself setting it on fire, while a message in the background read, “These uniforms were once holy; today, they are a game to politicians.” For this, he received NIS 1,000 in cryptocurrency.

When Beilin was instructed to do this again, at some point after January 7 of this year, he received the money to acquire the uniform, but did not carry out the assignment.

On February 11, Beilin documented himself hiding a SIM card that he had purchased in a specified location.

Instructed to document military bases

Toward the end of the contact period, when Beilin had already stopped carrying out his assignments, the agent had instructed him to light cars and trash cans on fire, document military bases and strategic locations, learn how to construct explosives, and set up a surveillance camera in a hidden location.

Overall, Beilin received $8,974 in cryptocurrency. In its request to have him remanded until legal proceedings conclude, the prosecution noted that cellphones and hidden cameras were found in Beilin’s home and that it has the cryptocurrency reports indicating that he received the funds.

The indictment notes that Beilin did not “have a reasonable explanation” for his actions. He denied all the charges at first, attributing them to a “leftist” political setup, but later said he knew what he was doing, even though he “didn’t want to hurt the state.”