Iran executes 4 convicted of espionage for Israel
Jan 29, 2024
Tehran [Iran], January 29 : Iran executed four terrorists convicted of espionage cooperation in favour of the Israeli regime, Iran State News Agency (IRNA) reported on Monday.
The news agency reported that Iran's judiciary announced that the four terrorists were executed at dawn.
The four convicts had been arrested by Iranian security forces in mid-July 2022, a few days before they could carry out an operation against a factory affiliated with the Defence Ministry in Najafabad, in the central province of Isfahan.
They were sentenced to death for espionage cooperation in favour of the Israeli regime on September 18, 2023. They were also convicted of forming and managing a terrorist group with the aim of disrupting the country's security. An appeal court later upheld the verdict after re-examining the case.
Iran from time to time reports on arrests, trials and executions of its nationals for spying for Mossad and other Western intelligence services, ABC News reported.
ABC News said in its report that last month, Iran executed four people, three men and a woman, and sentenced several others to prison for having alleged links with Israel's Mossad security service, local media reported. Earlier in December, another man was executed on charges of releasing classified information to Mossad.
Iran and Israel have accused each other of spying and waging a shadow war for years. Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and has repeatedly threatened to take military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is seeking such weapons and has vowed a harsh response to any aggression.
In 2020, Iran executed a man convicted of leaking information to the United States and Israel about a prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guard general, Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, ABC News reported.
