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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

Russia Says It Caught Ukrainian Agents Preparing Close Range Drone Attack on Moscow’s Air Defenses

A bus rolls along a street in central Moscow on October 19, 2026. (AFP)
A bus rolls along a street in central Moscow on October 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Russia Says It Caught Ukrainian Agents Preparing Close Range Drone Attack on Moscow’s Air Defenses

A bus rolls along a street in central Moscow on October 19, 2026. (AFP)
A bus rolls along a street in central Moscow on October 19, 2026. (AFP)

Russia's ‌FSB security service has thwarted a planned Ukrainian drone attack from inside Russia on a key element of Moscow's air defense system and on an electricity facility, the FSB said on Monday, saying it had arrested two men involved in the plot.

The two men, who the FSB said were from the South Caucasus region and had been ‌acting under ‌instructions from Ukraine's SBU security service, ‌had ⁠retrieved First Person ⁠View drones and explosives from two Russian regions, delivered them to the Moscow region, and configured and activated the drones, the FSB said.

The drones were to be remotely controlled from Ukraine, it said.

"It has been ⁠established that one of the ‌suspects was recruited by ‌an SBU officer and, on that officer’s instructions and ‌in return for a promised monetary ‌reward, travelled to Russia to prepare and carry out a sabotage and terrorist attack. To this end, he enlisted the help of an acquaintance ‌from his close circle," the FSB said.

"The suspects were detained by FSB ⁠officers ⁠while preparing to carry out a terrorist attack on an electricity infrastructure facility and on one of the key components of Moscow's missile defense system," it said.

There was no immediate comment from the SBU or from Ukraine, which has intensified its attempted drone attacks on the Russian capital in recent months, as Russia has stepped up its own attacks on Ukrainian power and other infrastructure targets.

World

China’s Xi Opens Communist Party Plenum, Aims for Firm Governance Measures

A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
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China’s Xi Opens Communist Party Plenum, Aims for Firm Governance Measures

A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A police car is parked at Tiananmen Square during the plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee in Beijing on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

China's Communist Party began a four-day meeting of its highest-ranking members on Monday targeting concrete measures for "full and rigorous party self-governance", as President Xi Jinping seeks to reinforce his authority and enforce ideological uniformity.

Xi briefed the party's Central Committee on a draft document that state news agency Xinhua said addressed the challenges the party faced, including growing its governing capacity, as well as guarding against complacency and combating corruption, the president's signature campaign.

The ‌implementation of major ‌decisions and plans of the Central Committee, the largest ‌of ⁠its top decision-making bodies, ⁠must not be empty rhetoric, the commentary wrote.

"It is essential to both refine institutional rules and regulations to close loopholes and strengthen safeguards, and ensure their effective implementation," it said.

The Central Committee will convene in the closed-door meeting from Monday to Thursday - the fifth since the current cohort was formed in 2022 and therefore known as the fifth plenum.

Analysts say this could be the last major party ⁠gathering before its 2027 leadership reshuffle, when Xi is expected ‌to hold on to the top job ‌for a fourth term.

"The plenum will present Xi as in control, and able to continue ‌his command," said Kerry Brown, director of King's College London's Lau China ‌Institute. "It is likely everything will be centered on him, to dispel any rumors or doubts about his physical fitness and ability to continue in his role."

With substantive policy issues already largely set in previous gatherings, "this will be a plenum where appearances will matter as ‌much, if not more, than substance," Brown added.

ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION FOR MARKET PREDICTABILITY

Xi has overseen a vast ⁠anti-corruption campaign in ⁠recent years which has led to the purge of hundreds of senior officials and top generals, even the president's one-time allies.

While critics argue the purges - particularly those targeting the highest ranks of the armed forces - are destabilizing and undermine combat readiness, the party has portrayed the campaign as both necessary and regenerative, saying the military must undergo a phoenix-like rebirth and "bathe in flames and be forged anew."

The Xinhua commentary propped up the anti-corruption drive as a demonstration of "sustained and systemic" self-governance to "ensure officials dare not, cannot and do not want to commit corruption".

"For global investors and policymakers, this signals greater predictability," it said, arguing that China was also creating a more transparent environment for international cooperation as merit and the rule of law prevail over connections and bribery.

World

Israel Defense Minister Denies Report of PM-Army Rift on Eve of Election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Defense Minister Denies Report of PM-Army Rift on Eve of Election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's defense minister denied on Monday reports of a rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the army over Iran, as the premier's rivals seized on the story as a line of attack a day before close elections.

Over the course of a neck-and-neck race, Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on his security credentials, insisting only he can "finish the job" in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

But his main rival, ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, has accused him of playing up the Iran threat when it suits him politically, and of failing to accomplish his war goals.

Israel's Channel 12 reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources, that there had been a confrontation between Netanyahu and army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir over an unspecified new directive on Iran.

The premier dismissed the report as "rubbish" during a TV appearance, and Katz characterized it as an effort to cast doubt on the Netanyahu bloc's judgement on the eve of the polls.

"The reports about gaps between the political echelon and the army on the Iran issue are entirely baseless and false," Katz said on X, insisting there was "complete" coordination between the two.

In its report, Channel 12 said Zamir had demanded a detailed discussion, as well as legal guarantees and the signatures of the political leadership before carrying out the directive he had received.

The outlet did not offer details of the directive, but cited sources saying there were concerns within the army that the war might be exploited for political gain.

Katz in his statement Monday said "unequivocally that there was no intention on Israel's part to initiate an attack on Iran before the elections".

- 'Restore responsibility' -

Opposition leader Yair Lapid referenced the report in a post on X, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to put off the vote.

"Tonight it was published that he wants to set off an escalation and a confrontation with Iran, just to postpone the elections," he said.

"This man has lost his grip. We absolutely must send him home."

Eisenkot, meanwhile, said Zamir had his complete trust, adding he would not stand for the military being "turned into a tool in Netanyahu's survival campaign".

"I warn Netanyahu: Do not dare place your political interests above the state's security," Eisenkot wrote on X Sunday night.

"In two days, the citizens of Israel will put an end to this reckless government and restore responsibility, decency and Israel's security."

On the campaign trail, Netanyahu has sought to portray Eisenkot as soft on Iran and beholden to Palestinian interests, playing to voters' opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu had warned on Sunday "that our enemies, Iran and its proxies, could challenge us with attacks in order to disrupt the elections", adding: "Don't test us."

But Iran's foreign ministry said it did not matter who prevailed in the vote.

"It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, takes the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.