A man has been hanged in Iran after being accused of spying for Israel.
The man, named by Iranian judiciary news outlet Mizan as Hamidreza Sabet Esmaeilipour, yesterday became the latest in a series of alleged spies executed by the Islamic Republic on charges of espionage and intelligence gathering for foreign powers.
"Esmaeilipour, who was arrested on April 29, was hanged for the crime of espionage and intelligence cooperation in favour of a hostile intelligence service [Mossad] through ... the transfer of classified documents and information, after the verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court and through legal procedures," according to Mizan.
Executions in the country have increased dramatically, in part due to spying charges amid ongoing tensions with Israel and the US.
Last year (2025) saw the number of executions double to over 2,000, and a large proportion were since the joint Israeli-US strike on the country's nuclear site in June.
Esmaeilipour is at least the fourth case of espionage-related execution since September 2025.
They included the execution of Bahman Choubi, whom Tehran claimed was "one of the most important spies for Israel in Iran".
Suspects are rarely granted a fair trial and human rights groups have reported that some of the convictions were based on confessions extracted by torture.
The latest execution comes as protests against the regime across the country were brutally suppressed by security forces. At least 6,000 people were killed, with some human rights groups placing the true toll at over 30,000.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has hinted at US strikes in retaliation for the crackdown. Earlier this week, he said: "We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela.”
The “armada” in question appears to be the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier which, along with its associated strike fighter group, arrived in the Arabian Gulf on Monday.
According to the latest reports, the vessel has entered “ghost mode”, turning off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to prevent open-source and commercial tracking services from broadcasting its real-time location.
This makes it significantly harder for Iran to target the carrier after it was diverted to the Gulf last week, placing it easily within range for strikes, while also likely positioning it in the waters of Saudi Arabia – a US ally and fierce opponent of the Islamic Republic.
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