Israeli Sports Minister Miki Zohar called on Monday for the death penalty to be imposed on two of his citizens accused of spying for Iran and "aiding it in times of war."

Zohar's call came hours after the Israeli police announced the arrest of 7 Jews who they claimed "communicated with Iranian intelligence agents in exchange for money."

This call, made by Zohar, a leader of the Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is unprecedented.

"The phenomenon of betraying the homeland and harming Israel's security for money, while we are fighting for our future in the War of Resurrection, requires the implementation of extremely harsh measures, including the death penalty law for anyone who helps the enemy in times of war," Zohar said in a post on the X platform.

“This is the only way we can create a clear deterrent that will prevent more similar cases from occurring,” Zohar added.

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli police and the Shin Bet security service claimed to have arrested a spy network of seven "Israeli Jews" who provided Iranian intelligence with information about military sites and energy infrastructure, in the third such announcement since October 14.

As of 15:30 (GMT), there has been no comment from Iran on this matter.

On Wednesday, the Israeli police and the Shin Bet claimed to have arrested an Israeli recruited by Iran to assassinate an Israeli scientist, after announcing on October 14 the arrest of two Israelis recruited by Iranian intelligence to assassinate an Israeli figure and commit acts of sabotage.

Israel and Iran consider each other their number one enemy, and for years have traded accusations of responsibility for sabotage, assassinations and cyber attacks.

Since the beginning of October, Tehran has been anticipating a possible attack by Tel Aviv, after Iran launched about 180 missiles at Israel.

Iran said its attack was "in response to Israel's assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, as well as its ongoing massacres" in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (official) on Sunday evening, quoting an unnamed Israeli official, Tel Aviv, with the support of the United States, is preparing to launch a "major attack" on Iran.

On the other hand, an Iranian military source threatened Israel late Sunday with a response "beyond its estimates" if it attacked military sites in his country, according to the Iranian Tasnim News Agency.