Iranian authorities have hanged two people accused of spying for Israel. The executions are part of a campaign that, according to human rights groups, frequently relies on vague national security charges and has shown no sign of slowing since the start of the war with the United States and Israel.
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Mizan, an agency controlled by Iran’s judiciary, announced that Omid Behzad and Puria Safvat were executed in the early hours of August 3.
According to the agency, the two men had provided Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, with “considerable assistance” in achieving its objectives during the June 2025 conflict, which Tehran calls the 12-Day War, as well as during the ongoing conflict that began on February 28.
Mizan claimed that Behzad and Safvat had provided Mossad officers, as well as communication channels linked to the service, with coordinates, photographs and information about military and security facilities.
Iran’s judiciary said suspicions about the two men were raised by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Intelligence Organization, which reportedly monitored the activities of media outlets based outside Iran, several news channels and the pattern of videos sent to them.
Authorities said “technical examinations” of Behzad’s phone uncovered the alleged activity and that he admitted to it “during the investigation.” However, it is unclear under what circumstances this statement was obtained. Human rights organizations have accused Iran for years of extracting confessions under duress.
Mizan added that Behzad had “clearly admitted” to using “location-finding applications such as Google Maps” to identify and mark the coordinates of various locations.
Meanwhile, Safvat was accused of “direct cooperation with Mossad,” but the report presented no evidence to support the claim.
Since February 28, when the war with the United States and Israel began, Iran has increased the number of executions of people whom human rights groups classify as political prisoners. They include protesters, people suspected of belonging to banned organizations and individuals convicted of espionage.
Several human rights organizations report that more than 50 people accused in political and security-related cases have been executed since the war began, while other organizations provide an even higher estimate.
The charges used by Iranian authorities in these cases include spying for hostile states, collaborating with Israel and the United States, moharebeh (enmity against God), and armed rebellion through membership in the Mojahedin-e Khalq, an exiled opposition organization.
In a statement published on July 27, United Nations experts accused the Islamic Republic of using executions to “instill fear throughout society, deter future protests and silence dissent.” They also warned: “However, repression only creates more opposition.”
The latest verified data show that 433 people have been executed in Iran this year. Many had been sentenced to death in cases related to the January protests, during which thousands of people were killed by security forces and tens of thousands of others were arrested.
Human rights organizations and international observers have raised questions about the fairness of the judicial proceedings, including allegations of forced confessions and restrictions on access to due process./ REL
