Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel amid rising number of cases

Iran has executed a man identified as Babak Shahbazi on charges of spying for Israel, state media reported on Wednesday, as the number of such cases rises sharply this year.

Iranian state media said Babak Shahbazi was put to death after being convicted of collaborating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. He was accused of gathering information from sensitive sites, including military-linked facilities, by exploiting his role as a contractor installing cooling equipment.

The report linked Shahbazi to Esmaeil Fekri, who was executed in June for alleged espionage on behalf of Israel since early 2022. Iranian authorities said the pair worked together to pass intelligence to Mossad.

Shahbazi’s lawyer sought an appeal before Iran’s Supreme Court, but the request was rejected, state media said.

At least nine executions of Iranians accused of spying for Israel have been carried out in recent months, according to official reports, marking a sharp rise.

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