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Iran hangs man over alleged spying for Israeli intel agency as executions mount
On Tuesday, Iranian authorities executed Gholamreza Khani Shakarab after convicting him of intelligence cooperation and espionage for Israel's Mossad spy agency, with Iran's Supreme Court upholding the sentence before the hanging.
The execution marks part of a sharp uptick in Iranian hangings on espionage and security charges since the February 28 outbreak of war with Israel and the United States, as rights groups warn wartime conditions are accelerating death-penalty cases through opaque trials.
Iran's judiciary alleged Shakarab was "one of the operational ringleaders of Mossad abroad" seeking to recruit individuals inside Iran, and claimed he was tasked to identify targets for assassinating a Jewish rabbi to frame Iran for anti-Jewish actions.
Iran carries out the second-highest number of executions globally after China, with at least 1,639 people executed in 2025 including 48 women, according to rights organizations; the doubling of Iranian executions contributed to the world reaching a death-penalty high unseen since 1981.
Iran's execution pattern extends to protest participants and security cases, including Monday's execution of someone convicted of armed attacks during January's anti-government demonstrations and earlier hangings tied to Mahsa Amini's death in 2022-2023.