Iran ex£cutes man accused of aiding US, Israel

Iran executes man accused of aiding US, Israel

Iran has executed Majid Adineh, a man accused of acting in support of Israel and the United States during anti-government protests that erupted in the country.

The judiciary said on Sunday that Adineh was convicted of “operational action in favour of hostile groups” during the nationwide demonstrations.

Adineh was also accused of carrying a chainsaw during the unrest and was charged with “deliberate arson, gathering and collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the country’s internal security”, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.

“Based on numerous documents and evidence in the case and the defendant’s statements, the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death and confiscation of all his property.”

His appeal against the death sentence was rejected, while the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Mizan said Adineh was executed on Sunday morning.

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He was arrested alongside another suspect on January 9 in Alborz province, west of Tehran, with authorities saying they were carrying “a revolver, ammunition, two tasers, two tear gas canisters, a rechargeable chainsaw, and a bottle of gasoline”.

The protests began in late December over rising living costs and economic difficulties before developing into wider anti-government demonstrations, reaching their peak on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities said more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest and blamed the violence on “terrorist acts” allegedly organised by the United States and Israel.

Adineh is among several people executed in connection with the protests, as the number of executions in Iran has increased since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28 following US-Israeli strikes against Iran.

Other executions have also been linked to cases arising from the war.

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based rights organisation, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), based in Paris, said Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest annual figure recorded in the country since 1989.

(AFP)