Iran executed political prisoner Erfan Shakourzadeh after convicting him of cooperating with US intelligence and Israel’s Mossad, the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported on Monday, as rights groups warn of a sharp rise in executions tied to political charges.
Shakourzadeh, Mizan said, had been recruited into a major scientific organization active in the satellite sector because of his expertise, but did not identify the institution or provide evidence supporting the espionage allegations.
The judiciary-linked outlet accused the 29-year-old of transferring classified information to “enemy services.”
Shakourzadeh, a master’s holder in aerospace engineering and graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, was arrested in 2025 by the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organization on charges of spying and cooperating with hostile countries.
Rights groups said he spent nine months in solitary confinement before his execution.
Rights groups warned execution was imminent
The Tavana educational initiative reported on May 8 that Shakourzadeh had been transferred from Tehran’s Evin prison to Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj for the implementation of his death sentence.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency and the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights also warned that his execution could be carried out imminently after the Supreme Court upheld the sentence.
Iran Human Rights called on May 9 for an immediate halt to the execution, saying Shakourzadeh had been moved to Ghezel Hesar prison on May 7.
The judiciary has not released details about his trial proceedings or legal representation.
Executions accelerate after war
Iran International reported on May 7 that at least 28 political prisoners were executed in the 48 days following March 18.
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center said the Islamic Republic carried out at least 612 executions in the first four months of 2026, averaging at least five executions a day over a 117-day period.
At least 21 protesters and political prisoners have been executed over the past month, according to rights monitors, including several people arrested during the January 2026 protests.
Among the latest cases were Baluch political prisoner Amer Ramesh, protester Erfan Kiani and political prisoner Soltanali Shirzadi Fakhr, who were executed on April 26, 25 and 23 respectively.
Mehdi Farid, identified by Iranian media as a manager in the passive defense committee of a sensitive state organization, was executed on April 22 on charges of spying for Israel.
Aqil Keshavarz, Javad Naeimi, Bahram Choobi Asl, Babak Shahbazi, Rouzbeh Vadi, Majid Mosayebi and Kourosh Keyvani were also among those executed over the past year on espionage-related charges.
Annual report shows surge in executions
Iran Human Rights and the group Together Against the Death Penalty said in a joint annual report released in late April that executions in Iran rose by 68% in 2025.
The groups said at least 1,639 people were executed in Iran in 2025 in cases linked to ordinary criminal and political charges, compared to at least 975 recorded executions in 2024.
Rights organizations say authorities have intensified repression of political and civil activists since the outbreak of the war on February 28 and accelerated executions after the ceasefire in what campaigners describe as an effort to spread fear and deter dissent.
