Iran has arrested 20 alleged Mossad operatives in the Islamic Republic and promised that they will show “no leniency towards spies and agents of the Zionist regime.”
By Rachel Avraham
Iran has arrested 20 people whom they allege are Mossad operatives, the Jerusalem Post reported. “The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Iranian media. According to the report, he said full details would be made public once investigations were complete.
Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told reporters in Tehran on Saturday that charges against some of the 20 suspects arrested had been dropped and they were released, the Jerusalem Post reported. However, the Jerusalem Post noted that Jahangiri did not give an exact number on who was released out of the 20 alleged Mossad spies.
Last Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reported that Iran executed a nuclear scientist named Rouzbeh Vadi, who was convicted of spying for Israel and passing on information on another nuclear scientist killed in Israel’s air strikes on Iran in June. Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated: “Under the cover of wartime conditions, the Islamic Republic seeks to carry out the execution of political prisoners at a lower political cost. The threat of these executions is serious, and only by increasing the political cost through popular protests and international pressure can they be prevented.”
He added: “These sentences have been issued without fair trials and based on confessions obtained under torture, and in addition to violating international laws, they also violate even the laws of the Islamic Republic itself.” Iran Human Rights reported that Rouzbeh Vadi was around 40 years old, was arrested 18 months ago and sentenced to death for “espionage for Israel” by the Revolutionary Court. According to the report, Rouzbeh was working as a nuclear expert at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran at the time of his arrest.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program, I24 News reported. According to the report, the fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment, I24 News added.
Israel carried out 12 days of air strikes on Iran in June, targeting Iran’s top generals, nuclear scientists, nuclear installations, as well as residential neighborhood, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report,. Iran responded with barrages of missiles and drones on Israel. Rights group HRANA reported 1,190 Iranian deaths during the 12-day Israeli attacks, including 436 civilians and 435 security personnel. 30 Israelis were killed during the 12-day war with Iran, with all but one of the slain being civilians.
The Times of Israel reported that Iran is the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups. According to the report, it rarely publicly produces evidence of the crimes those executed have been convicted of.
Photo from Student News Agency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Iran#/media/File:%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85%DA%A9_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%8C_%DA%A9%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B4_%D9%82%D9%84%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87_%D9%88_%D9%81%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%85%DB%8C_%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7_%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%8C_%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%8C_%DB%B3%DB%B0_%D8%A2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86_%DB%B1%DB%B3%DB%B9%DB%B7_(%DB%B1%DB%B2).jpg
