Iran Executes 'Terrorist' Over Alleged Mossad-Linked Drone Operation
Iran has continued to publicize that it is executing alleged saboteurs linked to Israel. On Sunday state TV announced the judiciary had put to death a "terrorist" behind a drone attack that targeted a military site in Iran last year.
The person was convicted on terrorism charges related to a plot to "explode the workshop complex of the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan under guidance of the intelligence officer of Mossad."
The identify of the person was not made clear in Iranian media, nor was the precise date of the execution initially disclosed. The defense ministry previously described that the nighttime drone attack merely cause minor damage, and no one was killed.
In December of last year, Iran executed four people it said were linked to Israel's Mossad intelligence service, after their prior convictions for espionage and spying. Those killed were three men and a woman, who were put to death by hanging.
State media reported at the time that "Four members of a sabotage group related to the Zionist regime [Israel]... were hanged this morning." The group of alleged saboteurs "committed extensive actions against the country's security under the guidance of the Mossad."
Iran is typically depicted in Western media as being paranoid about external spy interference in its affairs, but it's also true that Israel has carried out an unprecedented assassination and sabotage campaign inside the country over the years, related to the Iranian nuclear program.
Israeli officials have at times appeared to positively boast about it at various points in the recent past, and several top Iranian nuclear scientists have died.
Observers have long suspected that the exiled Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) has a significant covert network inside the Islamic Republic, and that they cooperate with Israeli intelligence. Washington officials have also been very public in their support to MEK as well.
The timing of these latest "Mossad-linked" executions seems also related to the Gaza War. Israel has been repeatedly threatening Iran given its historic support for both Hamas and Hezbollah, while Tehran officials have also been issuing daily threats and denunciations as the Palestinian death toll rises.
