Iran executes a man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad, state media reported Wednesday (January 7, 2026).

The official IRNA news agency identified the man as Ali Ardestani, saying he relayed sensitive information to Mossad officers in return for financial rewards in the form of cryptocurrencies.

The report said the man confessed to the spying charges and that he had hoped to receive a million-dollar reward as well as a British visa. It called Ardestani a “special operative force of Israel” and said he gave images and footage of “special places” to Mossad agents.

IRNA did not elaborate about the time and place of his detention.

The report said Israel recruited Ardestani online, adding that his case went through legal procedures, both in primary courts and the country’s Supreme Court.

Human rights organisations and Western governments have condemned Iran’s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly for political and espionage-related offences. Activists argue that many of the convictions rely on coerced confessions, and that trials often take place behind closed doors, without access to independent legal representation.

Tehran, however, maintains that those executed were “agents of hostile intelligence services” involved in acts of terrorism or sabotage. Iranian officials have accused Israel of orchestrating a campaign of covert attacks inside Iran, including assassinations of nuclear scientists and cyber sabotage of strategic facilities.

Tehran is known to have executed 12 people for espionage since a June air war that Israel waged against Iran, killing nearly 1,100 people, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. In return, Iran’s missile barrage killed 28 in Israel.

The exchange left both sides on high alert and further inflamed tensions across the region.