ALBAWABA - Iranian authorities announced the execution of four men convicted of collaborating with Iran's archrival Israel in a plan to attack an Iranian defense site.
According to the Judiciary Media Center, the four men identified as Mohammad Faramarzi, Mohsen Mazloum, Wafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi, were arrested in July 2022 and accused of plotting to carry out an operation against a Ministry of Defense center in the central province of Isfahan.
"After completing the preliminary investigation in the prosecutor's office, collecting evidence and documents, establishing the crime, and explaining the charges to each of the defendants, the case was referred to the Islamic Revolutionary Court for issuing a verdict" Mizan Online reported.
Iran claims the four men were recruited by Israel's intelligence service, Mossad, about a year and a half before the operation. They were sent to African countries for "training courses in military centers" staffed by Mossad officers, according to Mizan Online.
In August 2023, Iran claimed to have thwarted a "very complex" Mossad-led project to "sabotage" its ballistic missile industry. A few months earlier, in February, Iran accused Israel of being responsible for a drone attack on a military base in Isfahan.
For decades, the two countries have waged a shadow war, with Iran accusing Israel and its ally the United States of inciting unrest.
The executions triggered a wave of anger across social media users, as some accused the Iranian authorities of brutality against prisoners. The independent Center for Human Rights in Iran took to X to express frustration over the execution of the four men.
"These four young lives hang in the balance in Iran, victims of the regime's brutal crackdown on dissent," IranHumanRights said.
