Jerusalem, 13 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s National Headquarters for Child Online Protection warned that Iran operates foreign agents on social media with the aim of recruiting Israeli minors for espionage missions.
Social networks, including Telegram, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, are a platform that facilitates the detection and recruitment of minors for various purposes, including terrorism and espionage, while promising quick and easy compensation, warned the Headquarters.
Children and teenagers spend many hours of their time on these platforms, often without the supervision of a responsible adult. Due to their age and lack of experience, they often exercise less judgment and critical thinking, are more likely to believe and trust others, along with their natural curiosity and lack of privacy. All of this allows these entities to effectively locate more vulnerable minors, who are more likely to respond to their offer, and to create personalized appeals.
“It is important to remember,” it said, “any contact with a foreign agent is a serious security criminal offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and therefore any such conversation must be stopped immediately, no tasks must be performed, document as much as possible, block the contact and report to security officials.”