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Iranian authorities on Wednesday hanged a man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, the judiciary said, the latest in a series of executions tied to espionage allegations against the country’s arch foe.
“Babak Shahbazi … was executed by hanging this morning following due legal process and the confirmation of his sentence by the Supreme Court,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online news outlet reported.
The state-run IRNA news agency said Shahbazi had been convicted of espionage and security cooperation with Israel, alleging he engaged in “intelligence exchanges with Mossad-linked operatives.”
Shahbazi was accused of offering to sell sensitive information about senior Iranian officials to a Mossad agent identified as Esmaeil Fikri, who was executed in June 2025 for spying for Israel. Authorities said Shahbazi held encrypted online meetings with Israeli operatives, received training from Mossad, and attempted to gather intelligence on senior officials and strategic facilities.
He was sentenced to death for the capital offenses of “corruption on earth” and “waging war against God.”
Shahbazi worked in the design and installation of industrial cooling systems for companies tied to telecommunications, military and security institutions, Mizan reported. His access to such sites allegedly allowed him “to provide information to Mossad in exchange for money and residency in a foreign country,” it added.
The execution comes amid heightened Israeli-Iranian hostilities following their brief war in June. Tehran has since pledged swift punishment for those accused of collaborating with Israel.
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In August, Iranian authorities executed Roozbeh Vadi, an employee of a subsidiary of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, for allegedly handing over information about nuclear scientists and facilities.
In late July, Iran’s intelligence agency announced the arrest of “20 spies, Mossad operational and support agents, and elements connected to the Israeli regime’s intelligence officers” in Tehran and other provinces.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran is the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China.
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