Iran Executes Citizen Accused of Spying for Mossad
Iran executed Babak Shahbazi, a 44-year-old engineer, on Tuesday after the Tehran Revolutionary Court convicted him of espionage and treason. He was arrested in January 2024 and hanged following nearly 20 months in detention.
Shahbazi was charged by Iranian authorities of collaborating with operatives linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Officials also alleged he attempted to contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, offering to work against Russian interests inside Iran.
Legal Proceedings and Charges
The Revolutionary Court sentenced Shahbazi to death under Article 6 of Iran’s law against Israeli actions deemed harmful to peace and security. He was convicted of “enmity against God” and “spreading corruption on earth,” charges frequently used in espionage cases.
His defense team appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court, but the verdict was upheld three times. The judiciary maintained that Shahbazi had gathered and sold sensitive information on Iranian data centers and security installations to Mossad.
Shahbazi, an engineer specializing in cooling systems, had access to various sensitive sites inside Iran. Compared with other high-profile espionage suspects arrested in recent years, he appeared to be a relatively low-profile figure.