Tehran: Iran has executed three men accused of espionage for Israel, just days after a ceasefire was announced in the region. The executions took place at dawn on Wednesday at Urmia Prison, according to Iran’s judiciary.

The men—Idris Aali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul—were charged with “corruption on Earth through cooperation with hostile foreign states,” a charge often associated with national security offenses in Iran. All three had ties to the 2020 assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Authorities stated that Aali and Shojaei, initially detained for alcohol smuggling, later confessed to importing assassination equipment under the guise of alcohol shipments. Rasoul, identified as a Kurdish citizen from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, was also implicated in these activities.

The executions follow a series of recent actions by Iran against individuals accused of espionage, including the earlier executions of Ismail Fekri and Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh. Human rights organizations have raised concerns about potential additional executions of prisoners held on national security charges amidst heightened tensions between Iran and Israel.

Human rights advocates and international observers continue to monitor the situation closely, especially following reports that Iranian-Swedish researcher Ahmad Reza Jalali, who faces similar espionage charges, has been moved from Evin Prison to an undisclosed location, fueling fears of imminent execution.c