Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, according to Mizan, the media arm of the country’s judiciary.
The judiciary said Hamidreza Sabet Esmailpour was put to death by hanging at dawn on Wednesday after being found guilty of providing classified information to Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad. He was arrested on April 29, 2025, and later convicted of espionage and intelligence cooperation with a hostile foreign service. The sentence was carried out after it was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court and all legal procedures were completed, Mizan reported.
Human rights groups say Esmailpour is among at least 12 people executed on similar espionage-related charges following the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and Israel in June 2025.
The execution comes at a time of heightened international scrutiny of Iran, following reports that security forces killed thousands of anti-government protesters earlier this month. Some accounts have put the death toll even higher.
US President Donald Trump, who has warned of possible military action against Iran over the crackdown, claimed Tehran had suspended around 800 planned executions of detainees arrested during the protests. Iranian authorities, however, have denied this assertion.
International human rights organizations and several Western governments have condemned Iran’s growing use of the death penalty, particularly in political and espionage cases. Activists argue that many convictions are based on forced confessions and trials held behind closed doors without independent legal counsel. Iranian officials reject these claims, insisting those executed were agents of hostile intelligence services involved in terrorism or sabotage.