Iran executes four people on suspicion of being Mossad agents

Iran executed four men accused of working with Israel's intelligence service on December 4, Times of Israel reported citing Iranian state media.

The death sentences were given for the charges of "intelligence cooperation" with Israel and "kidnapping". 

Iran's Supreme Court upheld death penalties against the alleged Mossad agents on earlier this week following their arrest in May.

According to the BBC, the charge of "kidnapping" referred to a case covered by Israeli media a month earlier, in which a man introducing himself as an associate from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was seen recounting an alleged plot to target Israeli diplomats in multiple European locations.

Iranian media rejected the story and reported that the man was merely a farmer, whom a number of "thugs" had kidnapped in 2021 and forced him into saying specific phrases.

The executions occurred against the backdrop of ongoing government protests throughout the whole country. Iran's judiciary has already confirmed six death sentences over the protests, and rights group Amnesty International says that, based on official reports, at least 21 people currently on trial are charged with crimes that could see them hanged.