Iranian authorities carried out the execution of two men on Monday following their conviction on charges of espionage for Israel. This latest incident marks another development in a recent surge of capital punishments handed down by the judiciary for alleged intelligence-related crimes.
The official media arm of the Iranian judiciary stated that Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were hanged after being found guilty of transmitting sensitive coordinates of military and security installations to Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service. While the judiciary did not release details regarding the timing of their arrests or the specifics of their court proceedings, officials asserted that the pair provided critical information that assisted foreign intelligence services in achieving their objectives during the ongoing conflict.
This increase in state-sanctioned hangings has intensified since the outbreak of hostilities in late February, which followed significant strikes against the country. Human rights monitors have long identified Iran as one of the world’s most frequent users of the death penalty. Data compiled by international rights organisations suggests that the country reached a record number of executions last year, a figure not seen since 1989.
The escalation in these incidents has drawn sharp criticism from global watchdogs. Beyond the espionage-related cases, authorities have also recently executed individuals found guilty of participating in anti-government protests earlier this winter. Critics continue to express alarm over the pace at which these death sentences are being carried out across the nation.
