Iran executes ex-MMA champion on charges of spying for Israel

Iran Human RIghts (IHRNGO); 26 May 2026: State media reported the execution of Gholamreza Khani Shekarab, a man accused of intelligence cooperation and espionage for Israel. IHRNGO has established the location of his execution as Ghezel Hesar Prison.

Thus far in 2026, at least ten people have been hanged for alleged espionage and collaboration with Israel, while two others have been executed for spying on behalf of an unidentified Arab country.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency, Gholamreza Khani Shekarab was hanged at an unspecified location on 26 May 2026. IHRNGO has established the location of his execution as Ghezelhesar Prison. He was accused of operating as an overseas operational liaison to establish a multi-province domestic sabotage ring responsible for arson, acid attacks and spreading propaganda.

Furthermore, authorities alleged that Gholamreza orchestrated a plot to manufacture and smuggle explosive devices into Tehran to disrupt public infrastructure, and that he personally conducted surveillance to lay the groundwork for the assassination of a Jewish rabbi in a neighbouring country.

Thus far in 2026, at least ten people have been hanged for alleged espionage and collaboration with Israel, while two others have been executed for spying on behalf of an unidentified Arab country.

Gholamreza was arrested on 24 September 2025 and charged with “collaboration with the Zionist regime and specifically the Mossad intelligence agency.” According to Fars News Agency, his case was assigned to the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and “as the primary defendant was based abroad as an operational link, he was intercepted and lured back into the country through a complex counter-intelligence deception operation. Simultaneously, the remaining members of the network were apprehended in a coordinated sweep across multiple provinces.”

On 21 May, IHRNGO issued a warning about Gholamreza’s imminent execution after he was transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison from Evin Prion on 7 May.

RELATED | Iran: Young Man at Risk of Execution for "Espionage for Israel, Mossad"

At least twelve people have been executed for espionage charges in 2026. Ten were accused of espionage for Israel and the United States, and two Iraqi nationals were accused of espionage for an unknown Arab country. According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 13 people were executed for charges related to espionage for Israel.

The surge began in the lead-up to the Twelve-Day War in June 2025; two people were executed prior to the war, three during the war and the remainder were executed after the war. It is important to note that in some cases, the defendants were not originally arrested for espionage charges. They were coerced and tortured into making self-incriminating confessions that were later used as the basis of their sentences.

In 2026, ten of the executions for espionage have been carried out since the 40-day war began.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, May 26, 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

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