Iran executes four people for having ties to Israeli intelligence

Iran executed four men accused of working with Israel’s intelligence organisation Mossad on Sunday, according to Iranian state media.

The Islamic Republic has long accused its arch-enemy Israel of conducting clandestine operations on its territory. Tehran has recently accused Israeli and Western intelligence services of preparing a civil war in Iran, which is currently experiencing some of the largest anti-government demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

According to Iranian state media, the Supreme Court maintained the four men’s death sentences “for the crime of cooperating with the intelligence services of the Zionist regime and for kidnapping.”

Mehr news agency reported that three additional people were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to ten years after being found guilty of offenses such as acting against national security, assisting in kidnapping, and possessing illegal weapons.

The detainees were apprehended in June, prior to the current upheaval that is roiling the country, thanks to cooperation between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards, as per the Tasnim news agency.