Iran executes four people convicted of spying for Israel

Alleged Mossad agents were part of a sabotage team working for the agency, Iranian judiciary says

The head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, was appointed in 2021. AFP

Iran executed four saboteurs linked to Israel's Mossad intelligence service, according to a report by the Mizan news agency, which is affiliated to the judiciary.

"Four members of a sabotage team associated with the Zionist regime, who had committed extensive actions against the country's security under the guidance of Mossad officers, were executed this morning following legal procedures," it said.

According to the Mizan report, the four were among 10 people arrested for alleged affiliation with Mossad in the provinces of Tehran, West Azerbaijan and Hormozgan.

Members of the group "set fire to the cars and houses of some people related to the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and received money by taking pictures and sending them to Mossad officers", it said.

They are also accused of unsuccessful attempts to abduct and kill members of Iran's security and intelligence services.

Iran frequently claims to have foiled Israeli spying operations on its soil.

Earlier this month it announced the execution of a Mossad agent in Zahedan, the capital of the south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.

Iran and Israel have accused each other of spying and waging a shadow war for years.

In a rare acknowledgement of such operations, Mossad said in June that it had captured, in Iran, the suspected leader of a plot to attack Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus.