Iran Executes Two Men Convicted of Spying for Israel

People shop in a local market in Tehran, Iran, April 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People shop in a local market in Tehran, Iran, April 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Executes Two Men Convicted of Spying for Israel

People shop in a local market in Tehran, Iran, April 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People shop in a local market in Tehran, Iran, April 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran hanged two men on Saturday convicted of spying for Israel, the judiciary said, the latest in a string of executions in recent weeks.

"Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh were hanged for the crime of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favor of the Zionist regime," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

It was not immediately clear when the two men were arrested.

Mizan said Karimpour was convicted of the capital offence of "moharebeh," or waging war against God, over "filming and photographing security and military locations and sending them to a Mossad officer during the imposed war," referring to Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June 2025.

It added that Bekrzadeh cooperated with Israel's spy agency, Mossad, by sending information on "religious and provincial figures, as well as important centers such as the Natanz area," home to a key nuclear site.

Mizan did not specify whether Bekrzadeh's activities took place during wartime.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, triggering another war that engulfed the Middle East but has been paused since April 8 under a fragile ceasefire.

Iran has in recent weeks carried out multiple executions of people linked to mass protests in January, which authorities say were instigated by Israel, the United States and opposition groups, including the banned People's Mujahedin organization.

On Thursday, Iran said it hanged a man, identified as Sasan Azadvar, who was convicted of acting on behalf of such groups by "attacking police officers" in the central province of Isfahan during the pre-war protests.

The demonstrations began in late December over rising living costs before spreading nationwide and evolving into anti-government protests that peaked on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities said the rallies began peacefully before turning into "foreign-instigated riots" involving killings and vandalism.



Putin Says It’s Too Early to Say if the Drone Which Strayed into Romania Was Russian

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
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Putin Says It’s Too Early to Say if the Drone Which Strayed into Romania Was Russian

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)

Russian ‌President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that it was too early to say if the drone which crashed into an apartment block in Romania was Russian and suggested it could have been a Ukrainian drone.

NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behavior and pledged to "defend every inch of Allied territory" after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into ‌an apartment ‌block in the alliance member state ‌during ⁠an attack on ⁠neighboring Ukraine.

"Who in Romania says that this is a Russian drone?" Putin asked reporters at a news conference in Astana, Kazakhstan. He said he had only just heard of the incident as he had been in talks ⁠all day.

"No one can say ‌what the origin ‌of this or that drone is until an examination ‌has been carried out," he said.

Putin ‌said that Ukrainian drones had previously been spotted in Finland, Poland and in the Baltic countries.

"The first reaction was exactly the same as it ‌is now in Romania: The Russians are coming," Putin said. "Then, after a short ⁠time, ⁠it turned out that it had nothing to do with Russian drones."

Putin also pushed back against remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accused Russia of crossing another line with the incident, saying that she had not examined the drone debris herself.

Putin suggested that Romania share information about what happened and potentially drone fragments so that Moscow could conduct its own investigation.


Trump to Decide Imminently on Iran Deal, Says Hormuz Strait Must Open

US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
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Trump to Decide Imminently on Iran Deal, Says Hormuz Strait Must Open

US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said he would make a final decision on Friday over a deal with Iran to extend their ceasefire that would need to include opening the Strait of Hormuz and dismantling Tehran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon. 

"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," he said, referring to the White House's nerve center for monitoring global crises. 

Sources had said a deal was in the offing to ‌extend a truce in ‌place since early April for another 60 days ‌to ⁠allow oil and gas ⁠shipments to resume through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle tricky issues such as Iran's nuclear program. 

"Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions," Trump said, adding that nuclear material would be "unearthed" by the US. 

There was no immediate response from Iran, but earlier its top negotiator ⁠Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had sounded skeptical. 

"We do not trust ‌guarantees and words, only actions are ‌the criterion. No action will be taken before the other side acts," Qalibaf said in a ‌social media post, without elaborating. 

"The winner of any agreement is the ‌one who is better prepared for war the day after." 

THOUSANDS DEAD, GLOBAL ECONOMY SUFFERING 

The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up ‌energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Oil prices fell and stocks rose on ⁠Friday over the potential ⁠deal. 

In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: "Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!" 

He added that no money would be exchanged "until further notice" - a possible reference to Iran's demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad. 

Kazakhstan has signaled it is willing to take Tehran's stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the US reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times. 

Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states. 


Poland President Says Wants Zelensky Stripped of Award

Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
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Poland President Says Wants Zelensky Stripped of Award

Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT

Poland's president said Friday he wanted Volodymyr Zelensky to be stripped of his country's highest civilian award, after the Ukrainian leader named a military unit after a historical faction accused of killing scores of Poles in World War II.

Karol Nawrocki told the media he was "outraged" and had proposed "the withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle from President Zelensky".