‘Enmity Against God’: Iran Arrests Hundreds and Executes 3 for Allegedly Spying for Israel

Latest Developments

Mass Detentions Unfold: The Iranian authorities have arrested more than 700 people since the conflict with Israel began on June 13, Iranian state media reported this week. The Fars News Agency called the detainees “Israeli mercenaries” who “were mainly operating within espionage and sabotage networks” and were “identified and arrested based on tip-offs and intelligence operations.” Tehran has not announced formal charges against the prisoners or provided evidence for its allegations.
Tehran Hangs 3: The Islamic Republic executed three Kurdish men — Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul — on June 25 on charges of spying for Israel, the Norway-based nonprofit Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported. Iran alleged that the three men had committed “moharebeh (enmity against god) and efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) through collaboration with enemy foreign states in favor of the Zionist regime.” According to IHR, the trio endured unfair trials devoid of due process after the regime extracted false confessions through torture.
More Executions May Follow: IHR stated that at least six other detainees are waiting on death row on charges of espionage for Israel: Ahmadreza Djalali, Afshin Ghorbani Meishani, Rouzbeh Vadi, Naser Bekrzadeh, Shahin Vasaf, and Shahin Basami. Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian dual national, may be the most prominent defendant. First arrested in 2016, the physician crisis manager researcher had traveled from Sweden to Iran at the invitations of the Universities of Tehran and Shiraz when the regime arrested him. Djalali has spent more than nine years on death row as European efforts to secure his release have failed thus far.

FDD Expert Response

“The regime convicts and imposes the death penalty based on trumped-up charges to spread terror among the Iranians. Meanwhile, Israel’s Operation Rising Lion has helped the public realize that the Iranian regime is a paper tiger that is weaker than ever.” — Saeed Ghasseminejad, Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor

“Surges in arrests and executions in Iran consistently reflect the regime’s deep-rooted fear of its own people. Even after Israeli strikes eliminated senior officials, the Islamic Republic remained fixated on repression, terrorizing civilians with checkpoints. When the regime turns inward to punish its people, maximum support from Washington for the people must follow.” — Janatan Sayeh, Research Analyst