Woman among four executed by Iran for alleged links with Israel's spy agency Mossad

Iran reportedly carried out the execution of four individuals on Friday (Dec 29), including a woman, whom it accused of being "saboteurs" with alleged ties to Israel's Mossad intelligence service. The announcement was made by the Iranian Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary.

This latest development brings the total number of executions to five in a shadowy conflict between Iran and Israel that has spanned decades. Iran has consistently accused Israel of orchestrating attacks on its nuclear program, charges that have neither been confirmed nor denied by the Israeli government.

According to the Mizan news agency, the four executed individuals—Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omari, Rahman Parhazo, and Nasim Namazi—were described as the principal convicts in a case involving a total of 10 offenders. The agency did not clarify whether the remaining individuals would also face execution.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency revealed that the accused had confessed to collaborating with a Mossad officer in neighboring Turkey, identified by the names Tony and Arash, in a video clip posted by the official IRNA news agency.

The confessed actions included kidnappings, threats, arson on vehicles and homes, and theft of mobile phones from unspecified targets.

The group was reportedlyunder surveillance by Iranian intelligence for at least four months, starting around January 2022, until their arrest in May of the same year, the IRNA news agency claimed.

The video clip suggested that the individuals were transferred to Iran from a neighboring country.

The current execution follows a similar event in mid-December when Iran executed a fifth individual accused of being a Mossad agent in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. The situation underscores the ongoing tensions and mutual accusations between the two nations in a long-standing shadow war.

(With inputs from agencies)