Iran has arrested 20 people it accuses of spying for the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency — warning it will show no mercy.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime,” judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told reporters in Tehran on Saturday, according to Iranian media.
“With firm rulings, we will make an example of them all.”
A top Iranian nuclear scientist was arrested and executed earlier this week after he was convicted of being an operative for Israel.
Rouzbeh Vadi was accused of passing on classified information about one of his colleagues, who was killed during Israel and Iran’s 12-day war, state media reported.
Israel carried dozens of devastating air strikes on the Islamic Republic and its nuclear facilities in June, as it covertly infiltrated Tehran to kill more than 30 Iranian commanders and at least 11 of the regime’s top nuclear masterminds.
The nearly two-week conflict severely weakened Tehran’s air defense systems.
Following the war, Iran’s Parliament passed a bill in July allowing the death penalty for those convicted of espionage — a crime that had been previously been punishable by life imprisonment — mostly targeting activities linked to Israel and the US.
The regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has hanged at least eight people for espionage in recent months, and Amnesty International has warned of growing arbitrary executions and political repression by the Islamic Republic.
Charges against some of the 20 arrested were dropped, the judiciary disclosed, without specifying how many — adding that details would be made public once the investigations were completed.
Meanwhile, Iran has hidden its surviving nuclear scientists over fears Israel could again target them, The Telegraph reported.
The scientists are reportedly no longer permitted to teach or live in their family homes, instead being moved to the capital or northern coastal cities, according to a senior Iranian official.
At least 15 of the surviving scientists out of a 100 named on a list by Israel are reportedly considering pursuing new career paths.
With wires
