Iran has executed two people accused of spying for Israel despite international calls to halt the executions following US President Donald Trump’s letter to Congress saying the war against Iran is over.
Iranian media reports that two men named Yaquoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakarzadeh were executed after being convicted of spying for Israel, as the Islamic Republic’s chief justice warned of no leniency.
Karimpour was arrested after last year’s 12-day war against Israel. He was accused of collaborating with the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, by sharing sensitive national security information. Bakarzadeh has been in custody since 2023.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has claimed that the detainees were pressured to obtain forced confessions. They were not given access to a lawyer or their family.
The 41-year-old Karimpour was a supporter of the Yarsan religious minority, while Bakarzadeh was a Kurdish political prisoner, Euronews reports.
Reports claim that Iran has intensified its campaign of executions against prisoners accused of espionage, especially during the ongoing war against the US and Israel.
According to Hengaw’s human rights organization, at least 26 prisoners were executed in the month of April 2026.
Iran’s chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said: “We will certainly not show negligence or leniency in prosecuting and lawfully punishing any criminal whose hands are stained with the blood of our people.”
He added that Iran does not pay attention to “the bluster of the arrogant powers and their propaganda mouthpieces.”
