The official IRNA news agency identified the executed man as Ali Ardestani, and claimed he relayed sensitive information to the Israeli spy agency\u2019s officers in return for financial rewards in the form of cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n
The report said the man confessed to the spying charges, and that he had hoped to receive a million-dollar reward, as well as a British visa. It labeled Ardestani a \u201cspecial operative force of Israel\u201d and claimed he gave images and footage of \u201cspecial places\u201d to Mossad agents.<\/p>\n
IRNA did not elaborate about the time and place of his detention.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The report said Israel recruited Ardestani online, adding that his case went through legal procedures, both in primary courts and the country\u2019s Supreme Court.<\/p>\n \t Human rights organizations and Western governments have condemned Iran\u2019s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly for political and espionage-related offenses.<\/p>\n Activists argue that many of the convictions rely on coerced confessions, and that trials often take place behind closed doors, without access to independent legal representation. Tehran, however, maintains that those executed were \u201cagents of hostile intelligence services\u201d involved in acts of terrorism or sabotage.<\/p>\n Iran executed at least 1,500 people in 2025, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group says, in what it calls an \u201cunprecedented\u201d hike in the use of capital punishment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unprecedented in the last 35 years. As long as Iran Human Rights has existed, we have never had such numbers,\u201d the group\u2019s director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, says.<\/p>\n Tehran is known to have executed 12 people for espionage since the 12-day air war between Israel and Iran, killing nearly 1,100 people in the Islamic Republic, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.<\/p>\n \t Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran\u2019s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the country from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.<\/p>\n Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.<\/p>\n Iran retaliated to Israel\u2019s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 32 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.<\/p>\n Iranian officials have additionally accused Israel of orchestrating a campaign of covert attacks inside Iran, including assassinations of nuclear scientists and cyber-sabotage of strategic facilities.<\/p>\n Israeli officials say Iran has engaged in extensive efforts to recruit spies in Israel, offering cash rewards. Hackers affiliated with Iran have also claimed to have hacked into the phones of current and former Israeli officials, including former premier Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n
If so, we have a year-end request.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every day during the past two years of war and rising global antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based<\/strong> coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.\u00a0<\/p>\n We care about Israel – and we know you do too.<\/strong> So as 2025 draws to a close, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community<\/strong>, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tDemonstrators hang an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the funeral for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, on April 5, 2024. (Atta Kenare\/AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260106__89RB8GU__v2__HighRes__IranEconomyDailyLife-e1767703365393.jpg\")
\n\t\tIranians walk by an anti-US mural on a street in Iran\u2019s capital, Tehran, on January 6, 2026. (ATTA KENARE\/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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