An Israeli intelligence officer was reportedly executed in Iran on Saturday, according to IRNA, Iran’s state news agency.
The alleged agent was accused of stealing secrets and providing them to Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, IRNA said.
“This person communicated with foreign services, specifically Mossad, collecting classified information, and with participation with associates, provided documents to foreign services, including the Mossad,” IRNA said.
The execution occurred in Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan.
It was claimed that the accused had given classified information to a “Mossad officer” with the intention of “propaganda for groups and organizations opposed to the Islamic Republic.” The location of the alleged handover was not specified.
It was not clear when the individual was arrested, but IRNA stated that an appeal had been denied.
The execution occurred a day after Baluch militants attacked a police station in the province, resulting in the death of 11 security personnel and injuries to several others.
A state funeral was held on Saturday for the men in the town of Rask, where the attack occurred, as reported by state television. Two militants from the Jaish al-Adl group were also killed in the ensuing clashes.
The impoverished Sistan and Baluchestan province shares borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan and has a history of clashes between security forces and Sunni militants. The population of the province is predominantly Sunni Muslim, while the majority of Iranians are Shiite.
In April 2022, Iranian intelligence officers arrested three individuals who were reportedly part of a group with connections to Mossad, although it is unclear if the executed person was one of them.
Iran and Israel have long accused each other of espionage. Israel perceives Iran as its greatest threat and has repeatedly threatened military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking such weapons and has pledged a strong response to any aggression.
Iran occasionally announces the detention of individuals it claims are spying for foreign countries, including the United States and Israel.
In 2020, Iran executed a man convicted of leaking information to the US and Israel about a prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guard general who was later killed by a US drone strike in Iraq.
Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli armed groups across the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press and Reuters.