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Iran executed a man on Wednesday on charges of spying for Israel, the latest in a wave of executions that has reached record levels since the Iran war started on 28 February.
The Tehran judiciary’s official news agency Mizan said Mehdi Farid had attempted to infect the internal network of a sensitive defence-related organisation on orders from Mossad officers.
According to Mizan, he provided access for people outside the organisation by repeatedly connecting equipment via USB.
Mizan said Farid, a former employee of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation from Arak, had provided the Israeli side with information including organisational structures, location of buildings, protective status and staff identity data. The name of the organisation and documents associated with the claims were not released.
Mizan claimed that during the judicial process, he “made a frank confession” to cooperating with Mossad. Human rights organisations have repeatedly warned about the lack of access to independent counsel and alleged forced confessions under duress in such cases.
According to human rights organisations, Farid was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison in the winter of 2022. His case was initially reviewed in Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, but the sentence was later changed to death after the prosecutor objected.
Alternative account disputes official narrative
The Iranian civil society body Hengaw gives a different account of the case. According to an informed source cited by the organisation, Farid was an IT student who, after rejecting requests for cooperation from individuals attributed to Israel to take action against nuclear scientists, voluntarily turned to the security office of the Atomic Energy Agency and handed over information and sums received.
According to the same source, he faced charges of “disclosing information and collaborating with Israel” despite cooperating with domestic institutions. He stressed his cooperation with domestic institutions at all stages of the investigation, but this was ignored in the judicial proceedings, according to the source.
In addition to Farid, another death row inmate, Ahsan Afwal, has been transferred to Qezel-Hesar prison, according to Hengaw.
Iranian media on Tuesday reported the execution of another person, Amir Ali Mirjaafari, who had been convicted of setting fire to a mosque in Tehran and collaborating with Israel and the US during protests.
Judicial officials alleged he was part of a “Mossad network” and played a role in protest events. However, human rights organisations have warned against the use of forced confessions and the absence of fair trials.
Judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei has called for speeding up the implementation of heavy sentences, including executions, after protests last month. He has described the situation as an “all-out war” and called for tougher treatment of security defendants.
Sudden spike in executions
Human rights organisations say Iran executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number of recorded executions since 1989, according to a report by Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.
The figure represents a 68% increase compared to 2024, when 975 executions were recorded.
Since the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June 2025, at least 10 people have been executed on charges related to “collaborating with Mossad and Israel,” according to human rights reports.
The execution rate has increased significantly in recent months, in what is seen as Tehran’s increased crackdown on potential dissent sparked by the war and protests, human rights organisations warned.