Iran on Friday executed four people convicted of collaborating with Tehran's arch-enemy Israel in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan, the Judiciary Authority's news agency reported. "Four members of a sabotage group linked to the Zionist regime (Israel) were hanged this morning," Mizan Online reported. Those executed, Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omari and Rahman Parhazo, as well as Nasim Namazi, a woman, were found guilty of "war against God", "corruption on earth" and "collaboration with the Zionist regime". According to the same source, the group was also accused of having "carried out large-scale actions against the security of the country under the direction of Mossad," the Israeli spy agency.
'Spies of the Zionist regime'
In recent years, Iran has arrested and convicted numerous suspected agents who authorities say work for the intelligence services of foreign countries, including Israel. On December 16, a man described as a "spy for the Zionist regime" was executed for "collaboration" with the Mossad. In December 2022, four men were hanged on similar charges, while the Islamic Republic has in the past accused Israel of sabotaging some of its nuclear sites and murdering several of its scientists.
Iran does not recognize Israel, and the two countries have long been engaged in a shadow war, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict between Palestinian Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Republic executes more people each year than any other country except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International. More than 600 people were executed in the country at the end of October, the highest figure in eight years, according to a tally by the Norway-based human rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR). Executions are usually carried out by hanging.