Iran announced Monday it had executed a man accused of spying for Israel, identifying him as Bahman Choobiasl.
This execution is the latest in what activists describe as Tehran’s largest wave of capital punishment in decades.
The execution follows a recent escalation of political tensions, including Iran’s vow to confront its enemies after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program this weekend.
Iran’s judiciary, through its Mizan news agency, accused Choobiasl of meeting with officials from the Israeli spy agency Mossad, claiming he worked on “sensitive telecommunications projects“ and reported on the “paths of importing electronic devices.”
Details of his case were not immediately known through typical Iranian media reports or to human rights activists monitoring the death penalty in the Islamic Republic.
Since the regional conflict escalated following the “June war” with Israel, Iran is known to have executed nine people for espionage.
That conflict involved an Israeli air campaign that reportedly killed some 1,100 people, including military commanders, to which Iran responded with missile barrages targeting Israel.
Earlier this month, Iran also executed Babak Shahbazi on similar espionage allegations. Activists dispute that claim, suggesting Shahbazi was tortured into a false confession after reportedly writing a letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering to fight for Kyiv.
Iran has faced multiple nationwide protests in recent years, fueled by anger over the economy, demands for women’s rights, and calls for the country’s theocracy to change.
In response to domestic protests and the ongoing regional conflict, the rate of executions has accelerated to a pace unseen since the 1988 mass executions at the close of the Iran-Iraq war.
Monitoring groups, including the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights and the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, estimate that over 1,000 people have been executed in 2025 (year-to-date), noting the true number may be higher due to Iran’s lack of transparent reporting.
