Iran executes two political prisoners from ethnic minorities on spying charges for Israel

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities on Saturday executed two political prisoners from ethnic minority groups on charges of spying for Israel, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported.

Naser Bakrzadeh, a Kurdish prisoner, and Yaghoub Karimpour, an Azeri prisoner, had been placed in solitary confinement on Thursday, a move often seen as a sign that executions are imminent.

Tasnim said the two had cooperated with Mossad officers until their arrest. Karimpour was accused of providing false information to authorities during Israel’s bombing campaign in Iran, as well as photographing sensitive sites and sharing the material with an Israeli officer.

Bakrzadeh, who maintained his innocence, was accused of gathering information on religious and prominent figures in Kurdish areas and traveling across Iran to film sensitive locations.

Iran has executed more than 14 political prisoners, including protesters, in recent days on charges of cooperating with what authorities describe as hostile states.

The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Türk, said on Wednesday he was “appalled” by the surge in executions, which has left at least 21 people dead since the outbreak of the six-week war in late February.

“I am appalled that - on top of the already severe impacts of the [Iran-Israel-US] conflict - the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities in harsh and brutal ways,” Türk said.

Rights groups say Iran systematically uses torture and degrading treatment to extract self-incriminating confessions, which are later used as evidence in court.

At least 44 protesters detained during the January protests have been sentenced to death and could be executed at any time, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights. Sasan Azadvar, a young protester, was hanged on Thursday in Isfahan.

According to the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Karimpour - an Azerbaijani Turkic Yarsani citizen with a disability - was arrested on June 16, 2025, by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. He was held for over two months in detention, where he was subjected to severe physical and psychological pressure to extract forced confessions, before being transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison.

Bakrzadeh was also reportedly subjected to severe torture in prison. In a voice message released on April 27, he maintained his innocence:

“I am Naser Bakrzadeh, and you are hearing my voice from Orumiyeh Central Prison. This may be the last time you hear from me. I am the son of Molla Mansour. I am 26 years old, and I have two younger sisters. I was arrested at the age of 23, at the height of my hopes and my desire to live.”

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that Iran carried out 2,063 executions in 2025 - the highest figure recorded in roughly three and a half decades.

Iran’s judiciary chief has said the state will show no mercy to those it describes as collaborators with enemy countries, namely the United States and Israel.