Tehran, Iran — Iranian authorities on Sunday executed four people accused of working for Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, state-run news agency IRNA said. Three of his others were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
IRNA said the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard had announced the arrest of a network of people linked to the Israeli agency. He said the member had a criminal record and tried to interfere with national security.
Israel and Iran are the region’s biggest enemies, and Iran occasionally announces the detention of people it claims to be spying for the United States and other countries, including Israel. Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israel armed groups throughout the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas.
According to reports, members of the network stole and destroyed private and public property and kidnapped and interrogated individuals. The suspected spy had a weapon and was being paid by the Mossad in the form of cryptocurrency.
IRNA identified the executed prisoners as Hossein Ordoukhanzadeh, Shahin Imani Mahmoudabadi, Milad Ashrafi, and Manouchehr Shahbandi. His three other members of the group were sentenced to his five to ten years in prison, according to the news agency, but their identities were not disclosed.
Iran and Israel have long accused each other of spying. Israel sees Iran as its greatest threat and has repeatedly threatened to take military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He vowed to deal harshly with any aggression.
In January, Israel dismantled an Iranian spy ring that recruited Israeli women via social media to film classified sites, collect intelligence, and urge their sons to join Israeli military intelligence.
In July, Iran said it had arrested a member of a Mossad-linked armed group after sneaking into Iran across the western border.
In 2020, Iran executed a man convicted of leaking information about a prominent Revolutionary Guard general to the US and Israel.
