Iran said Monday it executed a man accused of spying for Israel, marking the latest case in what rights groups describe as the country’s largest wave of executions in decades.
Authorities identified the man as Bahman Choobiasl, though his case had not been previously reported in Iranian media or by rights monitors tracking death penalty cases.
The execution came after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program this past weekend, with the European Union following with similar measures on Monday.
Iran’s judiciary-run Mizan news agency alleged that Choobiasl had contacts with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, describing him as one of its “most trusted” operatives. It said he was involved in “sensitive telecommunications projects” and reported on “paths of importing electronic devices.”
Since the June war with Israel — which left some 1,100 people dead, including senior Iranian commanders — Tehran has executed at least nine people on espionage charges. Iran responded to Israeli airstrikes with missile barrages targeting Israeli cities.
Earlier this month, Iran executed Babak Shahbazi, also accused of spying for Israel. Activists said he had been tortured into confessing after writing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, offering to fight for Kyiv.
Rights groups note that espionage trials in Iran are typically held behind closed doors, with little access to evidence for the accused.
Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo, and the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center say over 1,000 people have been executed in Iran so far in 2025, though the real figure is likely higher as many cases go unreported.
UN human rights experts condemned the scale of executions, calling it “a grave violation of the right to life.” They said Iran has averaged more than nine hangings per day in recent weeks, describing it as “an industrial scale of executions that defies all accepted human rights standards.”
