Iran executes three more protesters over alleged Mossad ties

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities said Sunday they executed three more people detained during January’s anti-government protests, who had been accused of working for Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, according to Iranian state media.

The three were identified as Mehdi Rasouli, Mohammad Reza Miri, and Ibrahim Dolatabadi, and were described by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim News Agency as “rioters.”

Iran has executed around two dozen political prisoners since the beginning of the war with the US and Israel on February 28. Officials in Tehran have said they will carry out more executions of individuals they describe as affiliated with the enemy.

Rasouli and Miri were accused of involvement in the killing of a member of the security forces, while Dolatabadi was described as a protest leader whose actions allegedly led to the deaths of several security personnel. According to Tasnim, all three "were hanged following judicial proceedings."

The state media did not specify when the three were hanged, though reports suggested the executions may have taken place on Sunday and the day before.

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), which promotes accountability and respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iran, cited reports from Marzieh Mohebbi, an attorney and activist based in France, who said in a Sunday post on X that two young laborers were executed in Mashhad. "According to her, both men had been detained in connection with the January protests," IHRDC said in a post on X.

Mohebbi identified the men as Mohammadreza Miri, 21, and Mehdi Rasouli, 25, and said they were executed despite earlier assurances to their families that "their cases were under review by a clemency commission." She added that judicial authorities had urged the families to remain silent about the cases.

She further reported that at 10:00 am on Sunday, the families were summoned to a cemetery under a pretext, where they were then informed of their sons’ executions.

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.

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