Iran Accelerates Death Sentences in Espionage Cases Linked to Israel

Iran has executed two men convicted of working for Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, as the country's judiciary continues to speed up prosecutions and death sentences in national security cases. The executions come amid a broader campaign targeting individuals accused of collaborating with Israel and the United States.

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Protests in Iran on January 8, 2026

Iran Executes Two Men Over Alleged Mossad Links

According to Iran's Fars news agency, the two men were accused of gathering and transmitting intelligence for Mossad during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June 2025 and the subsequent U.S.-Iran war in the spring of 2026.

One of the executed men, Omid Behzad, allegedly passed the locations of Iranian military and law enforcement facilities through communication channels linked to Mossad.

The second man, Pouria Safvat, was accused of supplying the locations of military and security sites. Fars described him as "one of Netanyahu's soldiers" and said investigators found a message in which he allegedly wrote to Mossad contacts, "Thank you, soldiers of the Prophet Moses."

Judiciary Calls for Faster Espionage Prosecutions

Iranian Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei has instructed courts to accelerate proceedings involving people accused of cooperating with countries that Iran considers hostile.

Speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council, Ejei said courts should quickly issue and enforce verdicts, including property confiscation and capital punishment, in cases involving alleged enemy agents. He argued that Iran remains engaged in a broad confrontation and that its actions constitute legitimate self-defense under domestic and international law.

Iranian law allows penalties ranging from asset confiscation and lengthy prison sentences to the death penalty for espionage and cooperation with foreign intelligence services.

Earlier this year, Iranian authorities also warned citizens living abroad that they could lose property in Iran if they cooperate with foreign governments in ways that authorities believe threaten national security.

Iran has frequently imposed the death penalty in espionage cases involving alleged cooperation with Israel and the United States. In recent years, authorities have executed several people convicted of spying, including individuals accused of assisting Mossad in operations targeting Iran's military and missile infrastructure.