IRAN has executed a nuclear scientist accused of leaking crucial information to Israel’s Mossad, as part of a growing crackdown on suspected foreign espionage activities.
Roozbeh Vadi reportedly worked as a nuclear expert at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.
But he was hanged Wednesday after being convicted of transferring “classified information” to the Israeli intelligence agency.
Iran’s judiciary-run outlet Mizan Online claimed Vadi was recruited online by Mossad and later met agents in Vienna on five occasions.
The disclosed information reportedly contributed to the assassination of an undisclosed Iranian nuclear scientist during Israel’s Operation Rising Lion— a strategic 12-day assault focusing on Tehran’s nuclear and military core.
“The man had leaked information about a nuclear scientist who was assassinated during the Zionist regime’s recent aggression,” Mizan reported.
The outlet added the execution followed confirmation of his sentence by Iran’s Supreme Court.
Iranian authorities say Vadi was employed at a “key and sensitive organisation” and had access to state secrets.
He was reportedly held in Tehran Evin Prison since his arrest in February 2024, according to local NGO Iran Human Rights.
The June conflict marked an unprecedented escalation, with Israel launching over 900 strikes across Tehran and beyond.
The strikes reportedly eliminated numerous senior commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a number of nuclear scientists, and hundreds of others, according to various local and international accounts.
In the aftermath, Tehran vowed swift justice against those suspected of aiding the Israeli assault.
In response, authorities have apprehended several individuals suspected of spying and have already executed multiple people accused of collaborating with Mossad, as reported by The Telegraph.
In the past two weeks alone, three people were reportedly hanged for smuggling “assassination equipment” into Iran on Israel’s behalf.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has claimed it is in a “relentless battle” against foreign espionage networks including Mossad, the CIA, and MI6.
Human rights organisations, however, have raised alarms over the pace of these trials.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, head of Iran Human Rights, criticized these executions, stating they are merely tactics to instill fear in the populace and distract from the regime’s dishonesty and failures.
He added that espionage suspects are “sentenced to death without access to their chosen lawyer, in an unfair, non-transparent process.”
Iran ranks as the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China, according to Amnesty International and other rights groups.
Separately on Wednesday, authorities also executed a man convicted of being a member of the Islamic State group.
He was allegedly planning terrorist operations inside Iran, Mizan reported.
This development follows reports that Iran requested the Taliban to surrender a list of MI6 operatives and British special forces accidentally released by the UK government.
The shocking move was revealed on Monday amid claims Tehran is coordinating with Taliban warlords to get their hands on the so-called “kill list”.
The vast and highly sensitive database exposes more than 100 British officials and up to 25,000 Afghans who worked alongside UK forces.
One senior Iranian official told The Telegraph that the Revolutionary Guard Corps had “formally requested” the Taliban share the list, adding that “MI6 intelligence assets will take priority”.
