Iran hangs man over alleged spying for Israeli intel agency as executions mount

Iranian authorities on Tuesday executed a man after convicting him of alleged cooperation with, and espionage for, Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said.

“Gholamreza Khani Shakarab was executed on charges of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favor of the Zionist regime,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported, adding that his sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.

The hanging is the latest in a string of executions by the Islamic republic for security-related cases following the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on Feb. 28.

Mizan described Shekarab as “one of the operational ringleaders of Mossad abroad … who was seeking to recruit individuals inside the country” for “anti-security actions.”

“Ultimately, in a complex operation and using intelligence deception tactics, the accused was guided into the country and arrested,” it said, adding that he was detained by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence forces.

The report also said that Shekarab had been tasked by Israel’s Mossad spy agency “to travel to one of the regional countries with the aim of identifying and preparing the groundwork for the assassination of a Jewish rabbi… to accuse Iran of anti-Jewish actions.”

It was not immediately clear when Shekarab was arrested or sentenced.

“Finally, after reviewing the case … and after legal proceedings and confirmation of the sentence in the Supreme Court, the accused was executed by hanging this morning,” the report added.

On Monday, Iran executed another man after convicting him of carrying out armed attacks during the nationwide anti-government protests that peaked in January.

The day before, Iran hanged Mojtaba Kian over espionage in the first reported execution linked to spying offenses during Iran’s war with the U.S. and Israel.

Iran carries out the second-highest number of executions in the world after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.

A doubling of Iranian executions contributed to the world reaching a high for death penalties in 2025 not seen since 1981, an Amnesty report published earlier this month found.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty said last month in their joint annual report on the death penalty in Iran that at least 1,639 people were executed in 2025 — including 48 women.

Earlier this month, a man was executed for his role in a murder committed during another round of protests that rocked Iran in 2022-2023 following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman.

In March, Iran executed three men who were accused of killing police officers during the protests, including Saleh Mohammadi, a young member of Iran’s national wrestling team.