Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

Architecture student was seized in May while allegedly taking pictures of a military headquarters in northwestern city of Urmia

Iran executed on Saturday a man convicted of spying for the Israeli intelligence and army, state media reported.

State TV identified the executed man as Aghil Keshavarz, saying he had “close intelligence cooperation” with the Mossad and took photos of Iranian military and security areas.

Keshavarz was arrested while allegedly taking pictures of a military headquarters in the northwestern city of Urmia, some 600 kilometers (371 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran in May.

He was accused of carrying out more than 200 similar assignments for the Mossad in various cities of Iran, including Tehran.

He was tried and given the death sentence, a ruling the Supreme Court upheld, the report said.

Keshavarz, 27, reportedly studied architecture.

Iran is known to have executed 11 people for espionage since a 12-day air war that Israel waged against Iran in June, targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and military apparatus. Iran’s missile barrages killed 28 in Israel.

In October, Iran executed an unknown person convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad in the city of Qom.

Iran routinely conducts closed-door trials of those accused of espionage, with the suspects often unable to access the evidence against them.

In October, Tehran toughened its legislation and penalties for people accused of spying for Israel and the United States, who will now “be punished by the confiscation of all assets… and subject to the death penalty.”

A previous law did not target any specific country, and espionage was not necessarily punishable by death.