Iran hangs former nuclear employee for allegedly spying for Israel, aid groups say
Judiciary says Mehdi Farid, arrested in 2023, was executed for ‘extensive cooperation’ with Mossad; NGOs say he worked for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization
PARIS — Iran hanged a man on Wednesday convicted of links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said, with two NGOs based outside the country saying he worked for the Iranian atomic energy organization.
The execution of Mehdi Farid was the latest in a number of hangings of high-profile convicts in an accelerating trend that has alarmed rights groups.
“Mehdi Farid… was hanged this morning for extensive cooperation with the terrorist spy service Mossad after the case was examined and the final verdict was approved,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said, adding that he had been convicted of the capital offense of “corruption on earth.”
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, which monitors executions in Iran, said Farid had been working for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization when he was arrested on May 31, 2023.
It said he was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison, but in a new trial in July 2025, was sentenced to death on charges of spying for Israel.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) also said Farid, 55, was an employee of the atomic energy organization and that the new trial was a result of an appeal from the prosecutor.
Iran executed a man on Wednesday after the country’s judiciary alleged that he had “extensive cooperation” with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, judiciary-affiliated Mizan News reported.
Mehdi Farid was “a manager in the civil defense committee of one of the country’s… pic.twitter.com/RSRekg2PXz
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 22, 2026
Mizan said Farid was a manager in the Passive Defense Organization, a civil defense body, which issued a statement denying that he had “any membership, responsibility or position” there.
Iran has carried out multiple executions since the start of the war with the United States and Israel on February 28. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.
On Sunday, Mizan reported that Iran had executed two men convicted of cooperating with Mossad. The two, identified as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi, were accused of belonging to a spy network linked to Mossad and had received training abroad, including in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Execution of Two Security Defendants After Overnight Transfer Raises Fair Trial Concerns
Early this morning, Mohammad Masoum (Nima) Shahi and Hamed Validi were executed after being convicted on security-related charges, including alleged cooperation with Mossad.
The executions… pic.twitter.com/KCexIyIUO2
— Rojhelat Info (@RojhelatInfo_En) April 20, 2026
Iran is the world’s second most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups based outside the country, and Iranian officials have warned there will be no leniency for anyone deemed to have collaborated with Israel.
Earlier this month, Iran’s hardline judiciary chief urged courts to speed up verdicts linked to the US-Israeli war, including capital punishment, as activists sounded the alarm about surging hangings of convicts seen as political prisoners.
“You need to speed up the issuing of sentences for executions and the confiscation of property,” judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei told a televised meeting of senior judiciary officials.
Amnesty International has said that these executions have shown the judiciary to be “a tool of repression, sending individuals to the gallows to spread fear and exacting revenge on those demanding fundamental political change.”
The Times of Israel Community.