The judiciary claimed he was arrested on April 29, 2025, and accused of transferring classified documents and sensitive information to a “hostile intelligence service.”
Iran has executed a man identified as Hamidreza Sabet Esmaeilipour after convicting him of spying for Israel, according to the Iranian judiciary’s media arm, Mizan.
Mizan reported on Wednesday that Esmaeilipour was hanged after being found guilty of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad.
The judiciary claimed he was arrested on April 29, 2025, and accused of transferring classified documents and sensitive information to a “hostile intelligence service.”
According to the report, the death sentence was carried out after being upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court and following what authorities described as the completion of all legal procedures.
Iran and Israel have been locked in a long-running shadow war marked by covert operations, assassinations, cyberattacks and intelligence operations across the Middle East.
Tehran has repeatedly accused Israel of infiltrating its security and military institutions, particularly in relation to its nuclear programme.
In recent years, Iran has executed several individuals it accused of having links to Israeli intelligence, drawing criticism from international human rights organisations over due process concerns and the use of the death penalty.
Executions linked to alleged espionage for Israel have reportedly increased since last year, following a direct military confrontation in June in which Israeli and U.S. forces carried out strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, sharply escalating tensions between the regional adversaries.
Iranian authorities maintain that such executions are necessary to safeguard national security, while critics argue that espionage charges are often opaque and trials lack transparency.