The Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament) has passed a bill to intensify punishments related to espionage charges, coinciding with the arrest of more than 500 people accused of collaborating with Israel and about 300 others for their activity on social media platforms. These developments point to an increasingly repressive political environment in Iran.
This trend has raised fears about the possible onset of a new wave of executions.
Following Israel’s strikes on Iranian regime military and nuclear facilities on June 13, at least six individuals have been executed on charges of collaboration with Israel.
Repeated warnings by regime officials to citizens about cooperation with “hostile governments,” coupled with the hasty passage of legislation imposing harsher penalties for espionage-related charges, have heightened concerns that the regime is preparing to issue and carry out severe sentences, including executions, under the pretext of national security.
What Does the Bill on “Tougher Punishments for Collaborators with Hostile Foreign States” Say?
The bill titled “Intensifying Punishment for Collaborators with Hostile Foreign States,” whose double-urgency status was approved just four days after the start of the twelve-day conflict between Israel and Iran’s regime, was passed by Majlis in under a week.
For the bill to become law, it must be approved by the Guardian Council. While its full text has not yet been officially released, comments from lawmakers who support it indicate that it will impose far stricter restrictions on civil society activists and citizen-journalists.
Ebrahim Azizi, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who now chairs the regime Majlis’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said about the bill: “In this bill, any collaboration in conducting media and propaganda activities—including sending videos or images to hostile or foreign networks that weaken public morale or cause division—is considered a threat to national security and will be met with severe judicial action.”
IRGC Intelligence Chief Mohammad Kazemi Killed in Israeli Strike
Meanwhile, citizen reports indicate that Iran’s judiciary’s Department of Social Affairs and Crime Prevention has sent SMS warnings stating that “following or joining pages affiliated with the Zionist regime” constitutes a “prosecutable offense.”
On Monday, June 23, Alireza Salimi, spokesperson for the Iranian regime Majlis’s presidium, stated in an interview with the media that under the new law, any activity deemed as “practical action benefiting the Zionist regime, hostile governments such as the United States, or any of their affiliates that undermines national security and interests” constitutes corruption on Earth and is “subject to the punishment stipulated in Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code.”
Under this legal provision, such charges can result in a death sentence.
According to Salimi, “manufacturing, assembling components, supplying, transporting, trading, carrying, storing, importing into the country, or using any kind of firearms, melee weapons, chemical or unconventional weapons—whether traditional or modern—that have the capacity to kill or incite fear and terror” will carry the death penalty.
Six Executions in the Final Seven Days of the Conflict
Just three days after the start of Israel’s attack, Esmail Fekri was executed on charges of spying for Israel. Media outlets affiliated with the IRGC claimed that he intended to provide classified information—including sensitive locations and data related to specific individuals—to Mossad officers in exchange for money.
On June 22, another individual named Majid Mosayebi was executed in Isfahan on charges similar to those attributed to Esmail Fekri.
On June 24, Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh was executed on charges of membership in a cyber network allegedly directed by Mossad. One day later, reports emerged that three Kurdish border couriers (kulbars) were executed in Urmia Central Prison on charges of transporting equipment allegedly used in the assassination of nuclear scientists.
Iran’s regime can arrest anyone on charges of espionage and sentence them to death without a fair trial. These court proceedings often last only a few minutes, and defendants are denied access to legal counsel.
In Amnesty International’s latest statement, the Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said that Iranian regime officials’ calls for the swift prosecution and execution of detainees accused of collaborating with Israel show that the government is using the death penalty as a tool to intimidate and control the population.
