Axios:

The story: Iran has executed a nuclear researcher on charges of leaking classified information to Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Meanwhile, an alleged Islamic State group (IS) member has also been put to death, highlighting a widening crackdown on perceived security threats. The cases display Tehran’s twin focus on countering espionage by hostile states and jihadist threats amid heightened tensions with Israel.

The coverage: Iran’s judiciary on Aug. 6 announced the execution of Rouzbeh Vaadi, a researcher at the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute.

Vaadi was accused of transferring sensitive nuclear data to Mossad in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.

According to the judiciary-run Mizan News Agency, Vaadi was allegedly recruited online, met Mossad handlers in Vienna and provided intelligence on a fellow nuclear scientist who was assassinated during Israel’s June 13-24 war on Iran.

Iranian media later published a video featuring Vaadi's purported confession. In the clip, he appears to admit to cooperating with Israel for financial gain.

The narrated confession video claimed Vaadi had met Mossad agents abroad multiple times, with his arrest occurring upon returning from one such trip.

Separately, Iran has executed Mehdi Asgharzadeh, an alleged IS member accused of plotting suicide attacks on religious sites.

Mizan did not specify when the arrest occurred. But foreign-based Iranian Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reported that Asgharzadeh was an ethnic Kurd detained a decade ago and sentenced to death in 2023.

This comes as Hassan Younesi, son of former intelligence minister Ali Younesi (1999-2005), has said he is facing charges of “strengthening” Israel—apparently due to social media posts.

Younesi wrote in a post on Twitter/X on Aug. 5 that he was banned from using social media for three months over charges of “publishing falsehoods, propaganda against the establishment and strengthening the Zionist regime.”

Younesi’s father served as spy chief under Reformist President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) and as a residential aide (2013-18) under moderate Hassan Rouhani (2013-21).

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