Iran | Ali Ardestani First Person Hanged for Israel Espionage in 2026

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); January 7, 2026: State media reported the execution of Ali Ardestani for allegations of “spying in favour of Mossad intelligence and security services” by “taking and sending photographs and videos” for monetary and immigration motives. Ali is the twelfth person to be executed for alleged espionage for Israel since the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran last June.

Iran Human Rights condemns Ali Ardestani’s execution and warns that allegations of collaboration with Israel may increasingly be used to intensify crackdowns on protesters.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of IHRNGO, stated: “Ali Ardestani’s death sentence, like many other executions in Iran, was issued without a fair trial and based on forced confessions, and therefore lacks any legal legitimacy. The Islamic Republic’s aim in carrying out executions on charges such as espionage, particularly amid ongoing protests, is solely to instill fear among the population. Even if all state institutions were to collapse, the Islamic Republic’s execution machine would continue to operate, because the survival of this system is bound to the gallows. ”

According to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency, a man named Ali Ardestani (son of Ahmad) was hanged at an undisclosed location on 7 January 2026. He was accused and convicted of “spying for the Mossad intelligence and security services by providing information about the country.”

The report alleges that Ali had “online contact with Mossad officers” and “contact with agents of the Zionist regime inside the country.” It further states that “through Mossad officers, he met in person with an individual of known identity in Iran at various locations, delivered the information he had collected along with photographs and videos, and then received new assignments. “stated that his motive for betraying the country was to obtain a million-dollar reward and a visa for the United Kingdom” during the investigation and interrogation stages. He is also alleged to have “admitted that he was fully aware that he was in contact with Mossad officers and that he had been providing valuable information to the enemy.”

Prior to today, no news or reports had been published regarding Ali Ardestani’s arrest or conviction.

After the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran, the “Law on Intensifying the Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States against National Security and Interests” was adopted by the Majles (Parliament) on 28 September 2025. It was subsequently published/promulgated on 15 October. 

The law expands the death penalty in three main ways. First, it creates new categories of capital offences, extending execution risk to broadly defined “operational” and “intelligence” acts, various forms of cooperation with hostile entities, cyber and infrastructure-related offences, and, in some cases, activities involving satellite communication devices. Secondly, it also lowers the threshold for capital liability by allowing the death penalty where conduct is merely deemed capable of harming security, creating fear, or strengthening a hostile actor, even if the act is not completed or the assistance is indirect. Finally, it increases the likelihood of executions by fast-tracking cases in designated Revolutionary Courts, shortening procedural deadlines, permitting courts to fill investigative gaps themselves, and mandating pre-trial detention where “sufficient evidence” is alleged, thereby weakening fair-trial safeguards and the defence’s ability to challenge the case.

It is not clear whether Ali Ardestani's conviction was based on the new Law or not.

At the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary on 5 January 2026, Head of Judiciary Mohseni-Ejei linked protesters to Israel and America by stating: “Our people’s main enemies, namely the American and Zionist regimes, are at this moment openly and officially supporting the unrest in our country. Therefore, no rioter can any longer claim to have been misled.”

Ali Ardestani is the first person to be executed for alleged espionage for Israel in 2026 and the twelfth to be executed since the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran.

Furthermore, On 7 January, in a meeting with the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA), Mohseni-Ejei said: “The enemy failed to achieve its malicious goals and demands during the twelve-day war, and therefore it now seeks to drag our country into insecurity from within. The enemy has supported the rioters not indirectly but openly. For this reason, no excuses or justifications will any longer be accepted from the rioters, or from those who support and direct them. They can no longer claim that they were deceived or unaware. Given that the enemy’s position and the battlefield are now clear, this situation differs from previous years, and no leniency will be shown to offenders.”

The recent threats by the Head of the Judiciary, combined with the aforementioned new law, have heightened concerns that detained protesters could face the issuance and swift enforcement of death sentences on espionage-related charges.

Ali Ardestani is the first person to be executed for alleged espionage for Israel in 2026 and the twelfth to be executed since the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran.

Since 30 April 2025, the Islamic Republic has executed Mohsen Langarneshin, Pedram Madani, Esmail Fekri, Majid Mosayebi, Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, Rouzbeh Vadi, Babak Shahbazi, Bahram Choobi, Javad Naeimi and Aghil Keshavarzi.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, January 7, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde