Iran executed a man on Tuesday convicted of setting fire to a major Tehran mosque and collaborating with Israeli and American intelligence services during a wave of anti-government protests, as the country's judiciary continues a sweeping crackdown on dissent linked to the ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States.
The executed man, identified as Amirali Mirjafari, was hanged after his sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, according to Mizan, the Iranian judiciary's news agency. He was accused of being "one of the armed elements collaborating with the enemy" who attempted to burn down the Gholhak Grand Mosque in Tehran and of leading a network tied to Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service. According to official accounts, Mirjafari confessed to participating in the January protests, damaging public property, and carrying out arson attacks using gasoline-filled bottles. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly warned that confessions in Iran are frequently obtained under duress, casting doubt on their reliability as judicial evidence.
The execution comes days after Iran put to death two other men — identified as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi — also convicted of membership in a Mossad-linked spy network. Both were accused of receiving training abroad, including in Iraq's Kurdistan region. The cluster of executions reflects a broader acceleration in capital punishment since Iran entered open conflict with Israel and the United States on 28 February 2026. A fragile two-week ceasefire has been in place since 8 April. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Mai Sato, reported in March that at least 100 people were executed in January 2026 alone, and Iran's judiciary chief has publicly called for faster implementation of sentences against those accused of collaboration with foreign adversaries.
The protests in question began in late December over rising living costs before escalating into nationwide anti-government demonstrations, peaking on 8 and 9 January. Rights groups warn that further executions are imminent, including that of Bita Hemmati, believed to be among the first female protesters facing the death penalty in connection with the unrest. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump publicly urged Iranian authorities to release eight women at risk of execution, including Hemmati, calling it a potential gesture of goodwill ahead of upcoming talks in Islamabad between US and Iranian representatives.
The cases highlight the acute tension between Iran's wartime judicial crackdown and international human rights norms. With an ongoing internet shutdown inside the country limiting independent verification, rights organisations caution that the true scale of executions — particularly of protesters and alleged dissidents — may be significantly larger than publicly confirmed figures suggest.