Israeli Teens Train for Intelligence Roles

These teenagers may be Israel's future operatives in an espionage

battle against Iran. They learn about Iranian history and

culture, and sing in the Persian language.

I'm Reuters Ronit Harrash at Ben-Gurion High School in the Israeli city of Petah

Tikva. These high schoolers behind me may be

Israel's

future operatives in an escalating shadow war with Iran.

They are enrolled in a unique university-level program titled Iran:

Security and Intelligence. They're currently studying for their final

exams, focusing on Farsi grammar, translations, and

contemporary Iranian affairs. When drafted for their mandatory military

service at age 18, they will be natural candidates for

key positions in Israel's intelligence services.

Because of their candidacy, the program managers requested we do not

publish their full identities.

Israel is casting more widely for Farsi speakers for its intelligence

services. That would square with Israel's

publication last month of

what it said was a trove of secret Iranian nuclear documents that

required marathon translation and analysis after their capture.

And this school is happy to provide the candidates.

Program Director Pini Shmilovitch says some former students already

serve in Israeli intelligence.

Iran was, was, is, and will be

one of the main issues of the State of Israel, and

I think that we had to raise, um, people that

know and

will be expert in this field.

Many Israelis are conscripted into the military at the age of 18,

and the veil is rarely lifted on the secretive recruitment policy for its

espionage services. But for these students, learning Farsi

is not entirely about preparing for conflict with Iran.

I believe it can help me in the future, not necessarily in a

specific way, but my way of thinking is quite different from when I

started. I really feel like it gave me more tools

to investigate,

understand, and learn.