Iran hangs two more political prisoners ahead of negotiations with the US

Erbil, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities on Monday hanged two more political prisoners, accusing them of spying for Israel, just two days before a fragile ceasefire with the United States is set to expire.

Hamed Validi and Mohammad Masoum Shahi were transferred overnight from Karaj prison to an undisclosed location, a move often seen as a sign that execution is imminent.

Iran has executed around a dozen political prisoners, including protesters since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a large-scale air campaign targeting nearly 15,000 sites across Iran over six weeks of conflict.

Iranian and international human rights organizations have warned of a new wave of executions, as the authorities have imposed a digital blackout on the 90 million population for nearly 50 days, limiting people’s ability to communicate with the outside world. Iran has used execution as a tool of repression since the revolution of 1979.

“The arbitrary execution of 10 dissidents and protesters in 10 days since 30 March, after grossly unfair, torture-tainted trials, underscores ongoing deadly repression in Iran,” Amnesty International said. “The horrific escalation demands international condemnation and urgent action to halt further executions.”

Authorities claimed that two suspects had traveled to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to receive training from Mossad operatives. Hamed Validi is 46 and a Kurd from Kermanshah.

“These individuals were part of an espionage network that established contact with officers of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, through cyberspace and by traveling to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported. “After receiving training in terrorist and sabotage operations, they returned to the country.”

Officials in Tehran also alleged that the men were manufacturing explosives, photographing sensitive military locations, and planning attacks on military bases in Tehran, though no evidence was publicly presented. They were charged with waging war against god and cooperation with a hostile state which carried the death penalty.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has long been accused of using torture and inhumane treatment to extract forced confessions from detainees, which are then broadcast on state television.

In their 2025 annual report published Monday, Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said Tehran carried out 1,639 executions last year, some in public squares in the presence of children. This marked a 68 percent increase from the 975 executions recorded in 2024.

“Iran’s court system is being used as a conveyor belt for executions, with authorities increasingly calling for the death penalty to be imposed and carried out just weeks after arrest in a bid to intensify fear and crush the spirit of a population demanding fundamental change,” Amnesty said.