Iran executes man accused of being an Israeli 'senior spy'

A United Nations report from January stated that the number of people executed in Iran rose to 901 in 2024, including 31 women.

 Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran gather to protest against the death penalty in their home country and for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be declared a "terrorist organisation", in Berlin, Germany, November 14, 2024.  (photo credit: Lisi Niesner/Reuters)
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran gather to protest against the death penalty in their home country and for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be declared a "terrorist organisation", in Berlin, Germany, November 14, 2024.
(photo credit: Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

A man accused of spying for Israel was executed in Iran, according to a report from judiciary news outlet Mizan on Wednesday that named the defendant as Pedram Madani.

Arrested in 2020, Madani is said to have attempted to convey classified information to Israel about critical locations in Iran, Mizan said, adding that he was also accused of acquiring wealth by illegal means.

In April, the state executed an Iranian man by hanging who was convicted of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel. 

The Iranian news source described the individual as a "senior spy and field supporter of several operations" by the Israeli intelligence agency.

Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has put to death many individuals it accuses of having links with Israel's Mossad intelligence service and facilitating the latter's operations in the country, notably assassinations or acts of sabotage meant to undermine its nuclear program. 

 People step on the posters of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) take part in a protest, in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2023.  (credit: REUTERS/Johanna Geron)
People step on the posters of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi as supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) take part in a protest, in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Johanna Geron)

UN report finds number of executions in Iran rises

A United Nations report from January stated that the number of people executed in Iran rose to 901 in 2024, including 31 women, some of whom were convicted of murdering their husbands to fend off rape or after being forced into marriage. 

Most executions in Iran were for drug-related offenses, but political dissidents and people connected with mass protests in 2022 over the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini were also among the victims, the UN said in January.