Israel Claims to have Arrested Iranian Spy

New York Times
September 30, 2013

Israel announced Sunday that it had recently arrested an Iranian spy who had photographed the United States Embassy building in Tel Aviv, among other things, in what appeared to be a serendipitous catch as Israel scrambled to ward off any speedy international embrace of the new Iranian leadership.

The allegations, revealed in a detailed statement issued by unnamed Israeli security officials, were impossible to verify, coming from the murky world of espionage.

But they came at an opportune moment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he was on his way to the United States to meet with President Obama on Monday and speak at the United Nations on Tuesday.

Mr. Netanyahu is expected to press the case against Iran’s nuclear program and warn against what he views as a deceptive charm offensive by President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, particularly after Mr. Obama’s phone call to Mr. Rouhani on Friday.

Israelis worry that an extended diplomatic process may allow Iran to reach the threshold of being able to produce a nuclear bomb. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

But before he departed for New York, Mr. Netanyahu said, “I will tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and the onslaught of smiles.”

The Iranian issue has been an acute source of tension between Israel and the Obama administration in the past, and it could be again.

A senior Israeli official, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said Sunday: “We are worried Obama is looking for a way out. He said part of it right: we are looking for actions not words. But it wasn’t the same forceful language he used in the past.”

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