Iran has hanged a man convicted of spying for the US and Israel during anti-government protests, amid heightened regional tensions and an ongoing war.
TEHRAN: Iranian authorities executed a man on Monday after convicting him of acting on behalf of Israel and the United States during a wave of anti-government protests earlier this year.
The judiciary’s Mizan Online website stated that Ali Fahim was hanged following a review and confirmation of the verdict by the Supreme Court.
His execution is the latest linked to the protests that began in late December over living costs before escalating into nationwide demonstrations that peaked in early January.
The hanging also occurs against the backdrop of Iran’s ongoing war with Israel and the United States, which erupted in late February with strikes that killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Mizan reported that Fahim was convicted of working against Iran for “the Zionist regime and the United States” and for breaking into a classified military site to seize weapons.
Iranian authorities have characterised the initial peaceful rallies as having turned into “foreign-instigated riots” involving killings and vandalism.
Tehran has stated that more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, including security personnel and bystanders, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts”.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, however, claims to have recorded more than 7,000 deaths, with the vast majority being protesters, and suggests the actual toll could be higher.