Iran executes man convicted of espionage for Israel

On May 13, 2026, Iranian authorities executed a 32-year-old man identified as Ehsan Afrasteh after he was convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel. The state-run Mizan news agency reported that the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, claiming Afrasteh had received training from Mossad in Nepal and provided sensitive information to the Israeli government. Conversely, the human rights organization HRANA stated that the defendant was arrested in 2024 and convicted in 2025 based on fabricated evidence. This execution follows a separate incident on May 11, 2026, involving the execution of an aerospace engineering student accused of spying for Israeli and American intelligence agencies. These actions occur against the backdrop of heightened tensions following the outbreak of conflict on February 28, 2026, marked by strikes between Iran and a coalition involving Israel and the United States. International rights groups, including Amnesty International, have frequently criticized Iran for its high rate of capital punishment, ranking it second only to China. The legal proceedings and subsequent execution were carried out by hanging.