Iran executes four accused of spying for Israel

Tehran alleged the men met Mossad chief David Barnea

Iran on Monday executed four people it claimed were spying for Israel and plotting to bomb a weapons plant in Isfahan.

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The death sentence of Mohammad Faramarzi, Mohsen Mazloum, Wafa Azarbar and Pejman Fatehi was upheld by the Supreme Court, the judiciary’s Mizan news said.

Tehran accused the men of being recruited by Israel before being trained in Africa. It said they met Mossad chief David Barnea and travelled into Iran via Iraq’s Kurdish region.

They were arrested in August over a plot to bomb an equipment plant belonging to the Defence Ministry in Isfahan, Mizan added.

Iran frequently claims to foil Israeli attacks throughout the country and often levels accusations of espionage against political prisoners.

The execution comes a few days after Iran executed a protester detained during the 2022 Mahsa Amini demonstrations.

In December, it executed four men accused of working for Mossad in Tehran and its West Azerbaijan and Hormozgan provinces.

Tehran is one of the world’s biggest executioners, according to rights groups.

Iran-backed proxies have increased their attacks on Israel amid the war in Gaza, where more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed in less than four months.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has launched rockets into northern Israel while Yemen’s Houthi militants continue to attack commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.

Israel has claimed to foil several Iranian attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad, including several in South America, since the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.