TEHRAN, Iran

Four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel’s Mossad secret service were executed in Iran on Monday, according to state media reports.

The official IRNA news agency stated that the individuals were found guilty of plotting an attack on a defence ministry factory in 2022, located in the central city of Isfahan. This facility is involved in the production of missiles and defence equipment. The operation was allegedly orchestrated by Mossad, with the four men receiving training from the Israeli agency in an African country before infiltrating Iran.

The executed individuals have been identified as Mohammad Faramarzi, Mohsen Mazloum, Vafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi. The Supreme Court of Iran upheld their death sentences, which were initially issued by another court in September.

The method by which the death sentences were carried out was not specified in the report, but in Iran, hanging is the usual method employed.

In 2022, Iran announced the dismantling of a group associated with Mossad, accusing them of planning terrorist activities within the country. The Iranian authorities arrested all members of the group and seized a significant quantity of weapons and explosives.

Periodically, Iran discloses information about the arrest, trial, and execution of its nationals accused of spying for Mossad and other Western intelligence agencies.

Recently, four individuals, comprising three men and a woman, were executed by Iran for alleged links with Israel’s Mossad security service. Furthermore, several others were sentenced to imprisonment for the same reason, as reported by local media last month. Additionally, in December, another man was executed on charges of disclosing classified information to Mossad.

For years, Iran and Israel have exchanged accusations of espionage and have been engaged in a clandestine conflict. Israel perceives Iran as its primary threat and has repeatedly threatened military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies pursuing such weapons and has vowed to respond forcefully to any aggression.

In 2020, Iran executed an individual convicted of leaking information to the United States and Israel regarding Qassim Soleimani, a prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guard general who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in January of that year.

Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and provides support to anti-Israeli militant groups across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The latter is currently involved in a conflict with Israel.

Last month, a high-ranking Iranian general from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria.