Iran Executes Man Accused of Spying for Israel; Activists Say Confession Was Coerced

Iran executed a man it says spied for Israel, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, a case that rights activists say was based on a confession obtained through torture.

The execution was reported from Dubai on Sept. 17, 2025. Iranian authorities have accused the man of passing information to Israeli intelligence; activists who have followed the case told reporters they believe the confession was coerced and that the detainee was subjected to torture while in custody.

Details released publicly about the case were limited. Officials in Iran have in recent years prosecuted and sentenced individuals on espionage charges tied to Israel amid a backdrop of tensions and what Tehran describes as hostile intelligence activity. Activists and human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of those prosecutions, citing allegations of coerced confessions, lack of access to independent legal counsel, and closed-door trials.

The Associated Press account said the activists called the confession false and attributed it to torture while the man was detained. The report did not provide independent verification of the activists' claims, and Iranian authorities did not provide immediate comment in the AP dispatch.

Executions on national security and espionage grounds have drawn condemnation in past cases from international rights groups, which argue that due process safeguards are often not observed and that allegations of torture should be independently investigated. Tehran, for its part, has defended its security prosecutions as necessary to protect the state from what it describes as foreign interference.

The case adds to a pattern of high-stakes security cases between Iran and its regional adversaries. Relations between Tehran and Israel have included covert operations and mutual accusations of espionage and sabotage, though details of specific incidents are frequently tightly controlled by both sides.

Independent international monitoring of Iran’s judicial proceedings has been constrained, and verification of claims from inside the country is often difficult. The AP report and activists’ statements underscore continuing concerns about transparency and human rights in the handling of alleged espionage cases in Iran.

Further details were not immediately available. Journalists and rights monitors say they will continue to seek independent confirmation of the circumstances surrounding the arrest, detention and execution, and whether any legal remedies or appeals were pursued before the sentence was carried out.