Iran Executes Man Accused of Spying for Israel

Iran executed a man accused of spying for Israel, according to a report from state media on Wednesday that identified him as Babak Shahbazi.

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 its operations in the country.

Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased this year, with at least nine death sentences carried out in recent months.

State media said Shahbazi had worked alongside Esmaeil Fekri, another convict executed in June for spying for Israel since early 2022.

Shahbazi was accused of using his position as a contractor installing cooling devices to collect information from sensitive locations such as server rooms as well as centers linked to the military and security apparatus.

The defendant's lawyer had requested an appeal to the Supreme Court, which rejected the request.