PETAH TIKVA: Israel yesterday remanded in custody for eight days an alleged Iranian spy, arrested on September 11 carrying photographs of the US embassy in Tel Aviv.
News of his arrest was made public on Sunday.
In his first public appearance Ali Mansouri, 58, was silent and motionless as he sat in handcuffs, wearing a brown prison uniform.
He had not yet been charged.
The decision to lift a gag order on the arrest was made at “a high level,” Israeli media quoted a police representative as telling the magistrates court in Petah Tikvah, near Tel Aviv.
Top-selling Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot was suspicious of the timing, suggesting the announcement of the arrest deliberately coincided with Netanyahu’s US trip, where he intends to counter the conciliatory rhetoric of Iranian President Hassan Rowhani.
“Israel is trying to embarrass the Iranians in response to the successful public relations campaign that Rouhani conducted in the US in the past week,” Yediot’s defence commentator Alex Fishman wrote.
AFP
