Two young Iranians in their early twenties were arrested a few days ago in Nairobi, Kenya, Yediot Aharonot reports Friday, carrying forged Israeli passports with the Jewish names “Adi” and “Avshalom.” 

The two men were caught after attempting to board a Brussels Airlines flight from Nairobi to Brussels, authorities said, with the intention to travel from there to Tel Aviv.

The two were arrested at the airport in Nairobi and transferred to Kenyan immigration authorities, who quickly alerted Jerusalem.

Kenyan border authorities then sent copies of the passport to the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, where it was discovered that the passports were originals stolen from Israelis traveling abroad. It remains unclear how the Iranians managed to swap out the original photos for their own.

In the interim, the two suspects have been detained in Nairobi and an investigation has been launched into the incident by both Kenyan and Israeli authorities.

This is not the first time Iranians abroad have been known to use Israeli passports, whether for more freedom of movement abroad or to aid terror groups to launch attack against Israelis and Jews. 

However, both Iranians were keen on entering Israel itself, authorities said – and it is unclear whether they were doing so specifically to commit a terror attack, or for more mundane purposes. 

In 2013, an Iranian man was arrested at the Israeli embassy in Nepal, after he was found using an Israeli passport to scout out potential terror targets. 

An Iranian agent was deported from India in 2012 for spying on the Chabad House in Koregaon Park and other Jewish targets; an additional Iranian spy ring was likewise discovered in Turkey.