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Iran on Monday executed two men convicted of spying for Israel, the judiciary said, as Tehran continues to ramp up executions amid the ongoing war with Israel and the United States.
Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were hanged for “transmitting the coordinates of sensitive military and security sites to Mossad agents,” said Mizan, the media outlet for Iran’s judiciary.
The pair were convicted of “espionage and collaboration with the Zionist regime” and had provided information on military and security centres during the war, Mizan added.
It did not specify when they were arrested or when they went on trial.
The executions come as Iran has intensified its use of the death penalty since the war broke out on February 28 with massive US-Israeli strikes that killed the country’s supreme leader.
Iran is the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.
The authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights, an NGO based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), which is headquartered in Paris.
On Tuesday, Amnesty denounced what it said was the “escalation” in executions after Iran announced the hanging of two men found guilty of taking part in anti-government protests during the winter.
