IRAN has executed a nuclear scientist accused of passing sensitive information to Israel’s Mossad amid an intensifying crackdown on alleged foreign spies.
Roozbeh Vadi reportedly worked as a nuclear expert at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.
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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 leaked intel allegedly led to the killing of an unnamed Iranian nuclear scientist during Israel’s Operation Rising Lion – a 12-day offensive which targeted the heart of Tehran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
“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 bombardment killed scores of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, at least a dozen nuclear scientists, and hundreds of others, according to Iranian and international reports.
In the aftermath, Tehran vowed swift justice against those suspected of aiding the Israeli assault.
Authorities have since arrested numerous individuals for alleged espionage and have already executed several accused of working with Mossad, The Telegraph reports.
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, director of Iran Human Rights, condemned the executions, saying they are “only to intimidate society and cover up the corruption and inefficiencies of the system.”
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.
It comes after Iran reportedly asked the Taliban to hand over a bombshell list of MI6 spies and British special forces accidentally leaked 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”.
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