IranWire

Iran executed three men on Wednesday on charges of espionage for Israel, state media reported.

The men - Idris Aali, Azad Shojaei and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul - were executed at dawn at Urmia Prison on charges of "corruption on Earth through cooperation with hostile foreign states," according to Iran's judiciary.

All three had been arrested in connection with the 2020 killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Aali and Shojaei were kolbars initially detained on alcohol smuggling charges who later confessed to importing assassination equipment, according to Iranian authorities.

Rasoul was described as a Kurdish citizen from Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

Iran's Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, said the men imported "assassination equipment under the cover of alcohol shipments."

The executions follow Iran's recent execution of two other men, Ismail Fekri and Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, also on espionage charges related to Israel.

Human rights groups have expressed concern about potential executions of prisoners held on national security charges amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel.

Iranian-Swedish researcher Ahmad Reza Jalali, who faces similar charges, was recently moved from Evin Prison to an undisclosed location, raising fears about his possible execution.