Iran hangs grad student accused of spying for the CIA and Israel’s intelligence agency

OAN Staff Jenna Lee
9:15 AM – Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Iranian authorities reported that a post-graduate student from an elite Tehran university was hanged on charges of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.

Erfan Shakourzadeh was a student at the prestigious Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran when he was arrested in February 2025 under accusations of giving classified satellite details to foreign intelligence services, and was executed under those charges on Monday in the Ghezel Hesar prison outside of Tehran after his sudden transfer from the capital’s Evin prison earlier this month.

Following his arrest, Shakourzadeh was “subjected to nine months of severe physical and psychological torture in solitary confinement in order to extract forced confessions,” according to Hengaw, a Norway-based rights group.

Shakourzadeh had been working on satellite technology and gave details to foreign intelligence agencies “about his workplace, access level, duties, and other sensitive information,” according to the Iranian judiciary-linked online website, Mizan News Agency.

“He was a top-ranked master’s student in aerospace engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology” after he graduated from the University of Tabriz with a degree in electrical engineering, added Hengaw.

Shakourzadeh is the fifth person to have been executed on espionage charges since the U.S. and Israel began to strike Tehran in late February.

Iran had executed three men in March, who were under charges of killing police officers during the protests. Among them was Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old member of Iran’s national wrestling team.

Iran is the world’s most prolific executioner following China, with the death penalty count in Iran being 1,639 in 2025, including 48 women, based on reports from human rights organizations. Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported that at least 190 executions have taken place so far in 2026.

In a message written by Shakourzadeh before his execution and published by Hengaw and IHR, he said the accusations were “baseless,” and he had been “forced into false confessions” through torture.

“Do not let another innocent life be lost in silence and without public attention,” read Shakourzadeh’s message.

 

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