In September, Israel’s security services arrested an Israeli citizen on suspicion of involvement in an Iranian-backed assassination plot against prominent people including the prime minister. Israel has a long history of intelligence operations in Iran, allegedly including the assassination in July of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in a Tehran state guesthouse. Israel has made no claim of responsibility for that killing.Israel’s security services have broken up a spy ring that was gathering information on behalf of Iranian intelligence in the latest attempt by Tehran to recruit Israelis for espionage. Seven Israelis from Israel’s north, including the port city of Haifa, were arrested after an investigation found they had gathered intelligence on Israeli military bases and energy and port infrastructure. Is the war likely to escalate ?

