Iran executes 3 men accused of carrying out operations for Israel, US during protests

Iran executed three men on Sunday after they were convicted of carrying out operations for Israel and the US and taking part in armed unrest during anti-government protests in January. The judiciary named the men as Hassan Dioband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh, accusing them of using firearms and damaging an electricity substation in Karaj. Ten others received prison terms of 5 to 10 years.

Iran executed three men on Sunday after they were convicted of carrying out operations for Israel and the US and taking part in armed unrest during anti-government protests in January, state media reported. The judiciary identified the executed men as Hassan Dioband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh. They were accused of using firearms, grenades and Molotov cocktails, setting fire to public facilities and damaging an electricity substation in the city of Karaj, causing power outages. Dioband was arrested on January 11, and ten others accused of participating under his supervision were subsequently arrested and received prison terms of 5 to 10 years. The executions are the latest in a series Iran has carried out in recent months over the January protests, including those of people accused of links to Israel and the US. Bloody protests escalated into mass anti-government rioting in January, with Iranian authorities reporting more than 3,000 deaths and attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Foreign-based NGOs maintain that Iranian security forces fired on protesters and that the true death toll was much higher. In late February, the US and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran, triggering a war that has settled into an uneasy lull. Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied. According to rights groups including Amnesty International, Iran executes more people each year than any country except China, with at least 1,639 executions in 2025.