PUBLISHED on August 7, 2025, 05:58 PM EDT – Key Points and Summary – Iran has executed a man accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad, alleging he provided information that led to the killing of a nuclear scientist during the June airstrikes.
-The executed man, Rouzbeh Vadi, reportedly gave a televised confession.
-The execution comes as Iran signals its defiance in the face of international pressure.
-Despite a looming end-of-August U.S. deadline for a new nuclear deal, Tehran is actively rebuilding its nuclear program, including fortifying what looks like a secretive new underground facility known as “Pickaxe Mountain,” demonstrating its resolve to continue its nuclear ambitions.
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spy Amid Nuclear Program Reconstruction
Iranian state media reported this week that two men, one accused of spying for Israel and another alleged to have been a member of the Islamic State, were executed on Wednesday. According to Mizanonline, Rouzbeh Vadi was accused of leaking classified information to Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad.
Specifically, Iranian authorities claim that Vadi provided information that led to the killing of a nuclear scientist during an Israeli airstrike in June.
The name of the scientist, however, was not confirmed in official statements or Iranian reports.
The IRNA news agency also hinted on Wednesday that Vadi could have been working for multiple foreign intelligence agencies, and was sought out as an asset because of his “access level” to information about Iran’s nuclear program.
Mizanonline reported that Vadi met with Mossad agents in Vienna, Austria, on five occasions.
The Associated Press also reported on August 6 that an Iranian state television broadcast aired a video of Vadi confessing to working with the Mossad for financial gain, noting that it was “not immediately clear if he spoke under duress.”
Vadi is alleged to have assisted Israel in planning June airstrikes that killed some of Iran’s most senior generals and nuclear scientists – an attack that was guided by artificial intelligence and spies embedded within the Iranian nuclear program. Sima Shine, an analyst for the Institute for National Security Studies and former Mossad research director, described the attack as “the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Iran’s nuclear program.”
The news follows reports of leaked intelligence documents that reveal how Israel has been running a covert, years-long intelligence-gathering operation inside Iran, using “boots on the ground” to map the nation’s nuclear and missile programs for at least the past 15 years.
Despite ongoing pressure from the U.S. and Israel, the promise of new military strikes, and an upcoming end-of-August deadline set by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a new nuclear deal, Iran’s nuclear program presses on.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently described efforts to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure as a matter of “national pride,” and new satellite imagery has revealed what looks like ongoing construction at the clandestine “Pickaxe Mountain” facility located near Natanz. “Considerable construction” and tunneling activity seen at the site suggests Tehran is actively fortifying its program and building new facilities that are potentially less susceptible to future strikes.
All signs so far point to Tehran’s determination to continue its nuclear program – from deterring espionage via executions and evading oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency, to building entirely new facilities and storage sites as a hedge against future strikes.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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