Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) As tensions continue to escalate between Iran and Israel, the Iranian authorities on Monday executed a man accused of espionage for an Israeli intelligence agency.

"Israeli Mossad spy executed after full criminal trial, verdict being upheld by Iran's Supreme Court," reported Iran's Mehr news agency.

According to reports, Esmail Fekri was arrested in December 2023 during a complex intelligence operation conducted by the Iranian security agencies. The execution comes at a time when the war between the two countries continues to intensify and has drawn global attention for threatening peace of entire West Asia, a region already facing massive geopolitical turbulence.

Not much information about Fakhri’s arrest, trial proceedings, or specific charges have been revealed as cases dealing with espionage rarely provide full details, given the sensitivities attached to it.

The Mizan news agency of Iranian judiciary reported that Fekri sought to send Iran's classified and sensitive information to Mossad in return for money.

Iran in late May announced the execution of another individual, identified as Pedram Madani, on the conviction of spying for Israel.

The Iranian media claimed on Sunday that the police in Alborz province in the west of Tehran had arrested two people suspected of having links to Mossad. Later in the day, Israel said it has also arrested two citizens suspected of working for Iran's intelligence services.

This cases reflect ongoing tensions between Iran and Israeli intelligence agencies who have been engaged in covert intelligence and counterintelligence operations and have been dealing a heavy blow to each other via covert operations. The two intelligence agencies are engaged in a tit-for-tat campaign combining classic espionage, sabotage, aerial strikes and other covert assassinations.

Several reports claimed that Israeli spies were already on the ground and smuggled weapons into the hostile territory, much before the launch of airstrikes on Tehran.

--IANS

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