Iran executed a man on Wednesday convicted of ties to Israel’s intelligence services, the latest in a growing wave of high-profile executions that rights groups say reflects an intensifying crackdown amid the country’s ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.
State media, including the judiciary-affiliated Mizan Online, said Mehdi Farid was hanged after being found guilty of “extensive cooperation” with Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Authorities said the case had been fully adjudicated and the sentence approved under the capital charge of “corruption on earth,” one of the most serious offenses under Iranian law.
The execution comes as Tehran ramps up the use of capital punishment in cases tied to national security and alleged espionage. Iranian officials have repeatedly warned there will be no leniency for individuals accused of collaborating with Israel, particularly since the outbreak of war on Feb. 28.
Exile-based human rights organizations offered additional details that diverge in part from the official account. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said Farid had worked for the country’s Atomic Energy Organization and was arrested in May 2023. According to the group, he was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison before receiving the death penalty following a retrial in 2025.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency added that Farid, 55, was employed in Iran’s nuclear sector and that prosecutors sought a harsher sentence on appeal.
Iranian authorities, however, presented a different version of his role, describing him as a manager in the Passive Defense Organization, a civil defense body. That agency later issued a statement denying Farid had ever held a position there.
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