Iran on Wednesday executed a man accused of assisting Israeli intelligence services in assassinating a Revolutionary Guard colonel in 2022.
Mohsen Langarneshin, 36, was hanged Wednesday, according to Iranian state media, after being convicted in the Revolutionary Court this year. The sentence was carried out in Ghezel Hesar prison just west of Tehran.
According to reports, Langarneshin was considered a senior spy for Mossad, Israel’s intelligence arm, and provided Israeli intelligence officers with critical information on Hassan Sayyad Khodaei. Khodaei, the targeted Iranian colonel, was killed by a gunman outside his home in Tehran.
Langarneshin’s family and human rights activists say Iran had no concrete evidence for their allegations that he was an Israeli spy. Critics say Iranian authorities were using Langarneshin, who was arrested in 2023, as a scapegoat after failing to find Khodaei’s real killers.
A day before the execution, Langarneshin’s mother made a plea for mercy on social media. She said his family provided numerous documents proving his innocence, but authorities refused to listen.
“I am asking for your help, please pray for my child,” she said. “I don’t know if he will see the sunrise tomorrow or not. Please pray for him. No matter how many documents we bring [to prove his innocence], they refuse to accept them.”
The execution is another deadly chapter in Iran and Israel’s intelligence war since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
On Tuesday, Israel sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for discussing plans to assassinate high-profile Israeli officials with Iranian intelligence officers.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran are holding nuclear negotiations. While both parties have asserted that the talks have been productive, neither side has seemed to budge on key issues like nuclear disarmament for Iran.
According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, the talks are scheduled to continue this weekend in Rome. Iranian negotiators are also set to meet with European leaders on Friday to detail the status of the talks.
