Iran Carries Out String of Executions and Arrests Amid Fears of Infiltration of Israeli Spies

Iran has executed three men convicted of spying for Israel and detained hundreds more civilians in a widening crackdown that rights groups say reflects growing paranoia within the Islamic Republic's leadership following a deadly exchange of strikes with Israel.

The executions, carried out by hanging in the northwestern city of Urmia, targeted Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul—ethnic Kurds accused of aiding the Israeli Mossad in the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent nuclear scientist. Their names had previously appeared on a list published by Iran Human Rights (IHR), an Oslo-based advocacy group, which warned that at least ten men faced imminent execution on similar charges.

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The timing of the executions appears intended less to inflame anti-Israel sentiment than to project strength internally, a source familiar with the matter told TIME, describing it as a signal of resolve by a government increasingly consumed with fears of infiltration.

The recent crackdown has also renewed international concern over the fate of Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian doctor and academic who has spent more than seven years on death row. IHR reported this week that Djalali was moved from Tehran’s Evin Prison to an undisclosed location shortly after an Israeli strike on the facility. “There is an imminent risk that his death sentence will be carried out at any moment,” the group warned.

Since the outbreak of open hostilities with Israel on June 13, Iranian authorities have arrested more than 700 people on charges related to alleged collaboration with Israel, according to rights monitors. This week’s executions bring to six the number of Iranians put to death for espionage since the start of the conflict.

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Read more: Why Trump Must Now Negotiate With Iran

Though Iran’s government has presented these arrests and executions as evidence of a crackdown on foreign meddling, public sentiment appears to be shifting in a more complex direction. A source in Iran, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TIME that for the first time in decades, “widespread hatred” toward Israel is growing among ordinary Iranians—fueled not by government propaganda, but by firsthand experience of violence.

“Israel was very willing to kill six Iranian civilians for their [military] target, and that’s something which has really made a lot of Iranians angry,” the source said. “Iranians feel very critical of their own government because it wasn't able to defend them… and at the same time, they’re extremely resentful, verging on hatred, toward the Israeli government because of all the civilian deaths.”

The Iranian government has become increasingly paranoid about intelligence leaks since its almost two-week long conflict with Israel, which began with Israeli attacks on key military and nuclear targets on June 13.

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The first strikes resulted in the deaths of multiple highly ranked military officials and top scientists working on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Read more: Where the U.S. Could Face More Retaliation From Iran

Israel has previously conducted covert operations and targeted strikes within Iran’s borders, including the high-profile assassination of Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh in 2024.

However, the scale and visibility of the latest campaign have been unprecedented. During nearly two weeks of conflict, Israeli missile strikes killed at least 974 Iranians—including 387 civilians and 268 military personnel—according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Israel reported 28 deaths from Iranian missile retaliation.

Though a cease-fire is now in place, the fallout from the confrontation continues to unfold. Iranian authorities remain focused on rooting out suspected espionage networks, while the public contends with a shifting landscape of fear, anger, and mistrust—directed both at their own government and at Israel.