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Iran Hangs Three More Accused of Spying for Israel

The life of Ahmadreza Djalali is at imminent risk, he wife said - AFP
The life of Ahmadreza Djalali is at imminent risk, he wife said - AFP
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Iran Hangs Three More Accused of Spying for Israel

The life of Ahmadreza Djalali is at imminent risk, he wife said - AFP
The life of Ahmadreza Djalali is at imminent risk, he wife said - AFP

Iran on Wednesday hanged three men convicted of spying for Israel after what activists decried as an unfair trial, bringing to six the number of people executed on such charges since the start of the war between the Islamic republic and Israel.

The hangings have also amplified fears for the life of Swedish-Iranian dual national Ahmadreza Djalali who has been on death row for seven-and-a-half years after being convicted of spying for Israel which his family vehemently denies.

The executions also bring to nine the number of people executed by Iran on espionage charges since the start of 2025, with activists accusing Tehran of using capital punishment as a means to instil fear in society.

Idris Ali, Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul and Azad Shojai were executed earlier Wednesday in the northwestern city of Urmia, the judiciary said, the day after a truce between the Islamic republic and Israel came into effect, AFP reported.

They had "attempted to import equipment into the country to carry out assassinations," it added.

Iran had executed three other men accused of spying for Israel since the start of the conflict on June 13, in separate hangings on June 16, June 22 and June 23.

"The Islamic Republic sentenced Idris Ali, Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, and Azad Shojai to death without a fair trial and based on confessions obtained under torture, accusing them of espionage," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), told AFP.

He said Ali and Shojai were two border porters -- known locally as kolbar -- who carry goods over the border.

"They were arrested on charges of smuggling alcoholic beverages but were forced to confess to espionage for Israel," he said. Ali and Shojai were members of Iran's Kurdish minority while Rasoul, while also Kurdish, was an Iraqi national.

- 'Imminent risk' -

He warned that in the coming weeks the lives of "hundreds" more prisoners sentenced to death were at risk. "After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival."

Djalali was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to death in October 2017 on charges of spying following what Amnesty International has termed "a grossly unfair trial" based on "'forced confessions' made under torture and other ill-treatment."

Long held in Tehran's Evin prison, which was hit by an Israeli strike on Monday before the truce, he has now been transferred to an unknown location, raising fears that his execution could be imminent, his family and government said.

"He called me and said, 'They're going to transfer me.' I asked where, and he said, 'I don't know,'" his wife Vida Mehrannia told AFP.

"Is it because they want to carry out the sentence? Or for some other reason? I don't know," she said, adding that she was "very worried" following the latest executions.

The Swedish foreign ministry said it had received information that he has been moved to an "unknown location" and warned there would be "serious consequences" for Sweden's relationship with Iran were he to be executed.

Amnesty International said Tuesday it was "gravely concerned" that he "is at imminent risk of execution".

- 'Grossly unfair trials' -

Rights groups say defendants in espionage cases are often convicted under vaguely-worded charges which are capital crimes under Iran's sharia law including "enmity against god" and "corruption on earth".

Analysts say that Israel's intelligence service Mossad has deeply penetrated Iran, as shown by its ability to locate and kill key members of the Iranian security forces in the conflict. But rights groups say that those executed are used as scapegoats to make up for Iran's failure to catch the actual spies.

Iran's judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei had ordered swift trials against people suspected of collaborating with Israel with rights groups saying dozens of people have been arrested since the conflict started.

"A rush to execute people after torture-tainted 'confessions' and grossly unfair trials would be a horrifying abuse of power and a blatant assault on the right to life," said Hussein Baoumi, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

According to IHR, Iran has executed 594 people on all charges this year alone.

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World

China, Russia and Iran Join South Africa for Naval Drills as Tensions Run High

The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)
The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)
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China, Russia and Iran Join South Africa for Naval Drills as Tensions Run High

The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)
The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)

Chinese, Russian and Iranian warships launched a week of naval drills with host South Africa off the Cape Town coast Friday as geopolitical tensions run high over the United States' intervention in Venezuela and its move to seize tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.

The Chinese-led drills were organized last year under the BRICS bloc of developing nations and South Africa's armed forces said the maneuvers will practice maritime safety and anti-piracy operations and “deepen cooperation.”

China, Russia and South Africa are longtime members of BRICS, while Iran joined the group in 2024.

The Iranian navy was taking part in the drills while protests grow back home against the country's leadership.

It was not immediately clear if other countries from the BRICS group would take part in the drills. A spokesperson for the South African armed forces said he wasn't yet able to confirm all the countries participating in the drills, which are due to run until next Friday.

Chinese, Russian and Iranian ships were seen moving in and out of the harbor that serves South Africa's top naval base in Simon's Town, south of Cape Town, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. China's ships include the Tangshan, a 161-meter (528-foot) -long destroyer class vessel. Russia's Baltic Fleet said it sent a smaller warship, the Stoikiy, and a replenishment tanker to South Africa.

South Africa also hosted Chinese and Russian ships for navy drills in 2023.

The latest drills were meant to happen in late November but were delayed for diplomatic reasons because South Africa hosted Western and other world leaders for the Group of 20 summit around the same time.

The drills are bound to further strain ties between the US and South Africa, which is the most advanced economy in Africa and a leading voice for the continent but has been especially targeted for criticism by the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump said in an executive order in February that South Africa supports "bad actors on the world stage" and singled out its ties with Iran as one of the reasons for the US cutting funding to the country. China and Russia have often used BRICS forums to launch criticism of the US and the West.

South Africa has long claimed it follows a nonaligned foreign policy and remains neutral, but Russian presence on the southern tip of Africa has strained its relationship with the US before. The Biden administration accused South Africa in 2023 of allowing a sanctioned Russian ship to dock at the Simon's Town naval base and load weapons to be taken to Russia for the war in Ukraine. South Africa denied the allegation.

South Africa's willingness to host Russian and Iranian warships has also been criticized inside the country. The Democratic Alliance, the second biggest political party in the coalition government, said it was opposed to hosting drills that included “heavily sanctioned” Russia and Iran.

“Calling these drills ‘BRICS cooperation’ is a political trick to soften what is really happening: Government is choosing closer military ties with rogue and sanctioned states such as Russia and Iran,” the Democratic Alliance said.

World

Iran Shuts off Internet as Protests Blaze Across Country

This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
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Iran Shuts off Internet as Protests Blaze Across Country

This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)

Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as video showed buildings aflame in anti-government protests raging in cities across the country. 

Rights groups have already documented dozens of deaths of protesters in nearly two weeks and, with Iranian state TV showing clashes and fires, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several police officers had been killed overnight. 

In a televised address, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed not to back down, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of émigré opposition groups and the United States, and a public prosecutor threatened death sentences. 

DOZENS KILLED IN TWO WEEKS OF PROTEST 

The protests pose the biggest internal challenge in at least three years to Iran's clerical rulers, who look more vulnerable than during past bouts of unrest amid a dire economic situation and after last year's war with Israel and the United States. 

While the initial protests were focused on the economy, with the rial currency losing half its value against the dollar last year and inflation topping 40% in December, they have morphed to include slogans aimed directly at the authorities. 

Iranian rights ‌group HRANA said ‌on Friday it had documented the deaths of at least 62 people including 14 security personnel and ‌48 ⁠protesters since demonstrations began ‌on December 28. 

The internet blackout has sharply reduced the amount of information flowing out of the country. Phone calls into Iran were not getting through. At least 17 flights between Dubai and Iran were cancelled, Dubai Airport's website showed. 

Images published by state television overnight showed what it said were burning buses, cars and motorbikes as well as fires at underground railway stations and banks. 

Videos verified by Reuters as having been taken in the capital Tehran showed hundreds of people marching. In one of the videos, a woman could be heard shouting "Death to Khamenei!" 

Other chants included slogans in support of the monarchy. 

Iranian rights group Hengaw reported that a protest march after Friday prayers in Zahedan, where the Baluch minority predominates, was met with gunfire that wounded several people. 

Authorities have tried a dual approach - describing protests over the economy as ⁠legitimate while condemning what they call violent rioters and cracking down with security forces. 

Last week President Masoud Pezeshkian urged authorities to take a "kind and responsible approach", and the government offered modest financial incentives to help ‌counter worsening impoverishment as inflation has soared. 

But with unrest spreading and clashes appearing more violent, the ‍Supreme Leader, the ultimate authority in Iran, above the elected president and ‍parliament, used much tougher language on Friday. 

"The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people. It will not ‍back down in the face of vandals," he said, accusing those involved in unrest of seeking to please US President Donald Trump. 

Tehran's public prosecutor said those committing sabotage, burning public property or engaging in clashes with security forces would face the death penalty. 

FRAGMENTED OPPOSITION 

Iran's fragmented external opposition factions called for more protests, and demonstrators have chanted slogans including "Death to the dictator!" and praising the monarchy that was overthrown in 1979. 

Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, told Iranians in a social media post: "The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets." 

However, the extent of support inside Iran for the monarchy or for the MKO, the most vocal of émigré opposition groups, is disputed. A spokesperson for the MKO said units with the group had taken ⁠part in the protests. 

"The sense of hopelessness in Iranian society is something today that we haven't seen before. I mean, that sense of anger has just deepened over the years and we are at record new levels in terms of how Iranian society is upset," said Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington. 

Trump, who bombed Iran last summer and warned Tehran last week that the US could come to the protesters' aid, said on Friday he would not meet Pahlavi and was "not sure that it would be appropriate" to support him. 

Despite the increased pressure, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday the chance of foreign military intervention in Iran was "very low". He said the foreign minister of Oman, which has often interceded in negotiations between Iran and the West, would visit on Saturday. 

UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "deeply disturbed by reports of violence" and by communications shutdowns. 

Iran has weathered repeated bouts of major nationwide unrest across the decades, including student protests in 1999, mass demonstrations over a disputed election outcome in 2009, demonstrations over economic hardships in 2019, and the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022. 

The 2022 protests, sparked by the killing of a young woman in the custody of Iran's religious morality police, drew a large variety of people onto the ‌streets, with men and women, old and young, rich and poor. 

They were ultimately suppressed, with hundreds of people reported killed and thousands imprisoned, but authorities also subsequently ceded some ground with women now routinely disobeying public dress codes. 

World

US Announces Aid to Bolster Thailand, Cambodia Truce

This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
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US Announces Aid to Bolster Thailand, Cambodia Truce

This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)

The United States on Friday announced some $45 million in aid as it tries to bolster a fragile truce between Thailand and Cambodia.

Michael DeSombre, the top State Department official for East Asia, was visiting Thailand and Cambodia to discuss ways to strengthen the ceasefire, which President Donald Trump has sought to highlight as an achievement.

DeSombre said the United States would offer $20 million to help both countries combat drug trafficking and cyber scams, which have become a major concern in Cambodia.

He also said the United States would give $15 million to help support people displaced by the recent fighting as well as $10 million for demining, AFP said.

"The United States will continue to support the Cambodian and Thai governments as they implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords and pave the way for a return to peace, prosperity and stability for their people and the region," DeSombre said in a statement.

He was referring to an agreement signed between the two countries in the presence of Trump during an October visit to Malaysia, then head of the ASEAN regional bloc.

Major new clashes erupted last month. The two sides reached a truce on December 27 after three weeks of fighting, although Thailand accused Cambodia of violating in apparent accidental fire.

Cambodia has called on Thailand to pull out its forces from several border areas that Phnom Penh claims as its own.

The nations' long-standing conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.

Trump has listed the conflict as one of a number of wars he says he has solved as he loudly insists he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump on taking office drastically slashed foreign aid, including for months freezing longstanding assistance to Cambodia for demining, with the administration saying it will provide money only in support of narrow US interests.