Israeli Prosecutors Indict American for Iran Spy Crypto

Israeli prosecutors indicted a 21-year-old American citizen on Friday, July 3, 2026, on charges of spying for Iranian intelligence in exchange for cryptocurrency payments. The case marks the first time a U.S. national has been prosecuted in a broader wave of espionage investigations that Israeli authorities say has led to at least 60 indictments since 2023.

Eli Lavon, an ultra-Orthodox seminary student living in Jerusalem, faces two counts of contact with a foreign agent and 14 counts of communicating information to an enemy. According to the indictment, the alleged espionage began in November 2025 when Lavon, while visiting family in the United States, responded to a job advertisement on the Telegram messaging app. A month later, a handler claiming to represent Iranian intelligence made contact and began assigning him surveillance tasks upon his return to Israel.

Prosecutors allege Lavon filmed an abandoned building in a religious neighborhood of Jerusalem and recorded footage inside a grocery store. He is also accused of leaving a cigarette pack containing a note reading "The job is complete" in a trash can at the Hadar Mall. In a separate incident in February 2026, he...