Four accused of links with Mossad executed in Iran
On Friday, Iran executed four individuals, including a woman, who were accused of being “saboteurs” with alleged connections to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, as reported by the Mizan news agency affiliated with the judiciary. This brings the total number of executions this month to five in a longstanding covert conflict where Iran accuses Israel of targeting its nuclear activities, a claim that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied.
The news agency stated, “Four members of a sabotage team associated with the Zionist regime were executed this morning following legal procedures,” accusing them of engaging in “extensive” activities, guided by Mossad officers, aimed at compromising Iran’s security. The executions in West Azerbaijan province follow the mid-December execution of a fifth accused Mossad agent in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
Identified as the principal convicts in a case involving 10 individuals, the executed were Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omari, Rahman Parhazo, and a woman named Nasim Namazi. The fate of the remaining offenders is unclear at this time.
The official IRNA news agency released an almost eight-minute video showing the accused confessing to their alleged cooperation with a Mossad officer in Turkey, using the names Tony and Arash. Their mission, as described in the video, included kidnappings, threats, arson, and theft of mobile phones targeting unspecified individuals.
Long-standing accusations
Iranian intelligence monitored the group for at least four months, from around January 2022 until their arrest in May, following their transfer from a neighboring country, according to the video. An unidentified individual in the video claimed, “They were training us for bigger assignments.”
Iran has repeatedly accused Israel of attacking its nuclear facilities and assassinating its nuclear scientists, allegations that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied. The video also detailed previous incidents, including accusations of Israel’s involvement in a large-scale sabotage plot in August and the arrest of a network of agents in July.
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In the context of a broader human rights concern, Iran has executed over 600 individuals this year, marking the highest figure in eight years, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group. The executions have included individuals detained during anti-government protests triggered in September last year after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old arrested in Tehran for allegedly violating a mandatory dress code for women.