Iran Executes Two Men for Spying for Israel

Iranian authorities on Monday executed two men who had been sentenced to death for spying for Israel, the latest hangings in a wave of executions on espionage charges. Since the start of the war with Israel and the United States in February, Tehran has increased executions, with many convicts accused of being spies for Israeli intelligence. “Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were hanged this morning for transmitting coordinates of sensitive military and security sites to Mossad agents,” Mizan, a media outlet representing Iran’s judiciary, reported, referring to Israel’s foreign intelligence service. The report did not specify when the two men were arrested or tried, but stated they were convicted of “espionage and collaboration with the Zionist regime”. It added that they had helped the intelligence service achieve its objectives by providing information about military and security centres during the war. The number of executions in Iran has risen since the conflict erupted on 28 February with a massive attack by the United States and Israel that killed Iran’s supreme leader. According to human rights groups including Amnesty International, Iran is the world’s second-largest executioner after China. Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO, and Together Against the Death Penalty, headquartered in Paris, reported that Iran executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989. Earlier on Tuesday, Amnesty condemned what it described as an “escalation” of executions after Iran announced the hangings of two men convicted of participating in anti-government protests.