Iranian authorities on Monday hanged Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old post-graduate student at Tehran’s prestigious Iran University of Science and Technology, after convicting him of collaborating with the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. The execution, announced by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, was followed a day later by the hanging of Abdoljalil Shahbakhsh, a member of the Sunni militant group Ansar al-Furqan, convicted of armed rebellion during the nationwide protests that erupted in 2022. These two executions mark the latest in a sharp acceleration of capital punishment that rights groups describe as a concerted crackdown, set against the backdrop of Iran’s undeclared war with the United States and Israel.

Shakourzadeh, described by Norway-based Iran Human Rights as an “elite student”, had written a message before his death rejecting the charges as fabricated, claiming he was subjected to solitary confinement and torture to extract a confession. Viewed from Tehran, the judiciary’s narrative depicts a highly educated operative who used his expertise at a state scientific institution working on satellite technology to establish contact with enemy intelligence services in three distinct stages. Mehr News, a semi-official outlet, emphasised that he “knowingly and willingly” disclosed sensitive information, presenting the case as a successful counter-espionage operation.

Shahbakhsh’s execution, meanwhile, signals a separate but equally significant front. His conviction related to armed attacks on police headquarters in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, a restive region where Ansar al-Furqan, a Sunni militant group, has long challenged Tehran’s authority. The judiciary framed his actions as part of the 2022 protests, a period of mass unrest that the regime has since sought to suppress through judicial reprisals. Analysts in London note that the twin hangings serve a dual purpose: they reinforce the narrative of an existential external threat from the US and Israel, while also reasserting control over internal dissent, particularly among ethnic and religious minorities.

From Washington, these executions are likely to deepen diplomatic isolation. The Biden administration has consistently condemned Iran’s human rights record, and the spying charges against Shakourzadeh are dismissed by Western intelligence sources as unsubstantiated. Rights groups have reported a broader wave of hangings since the outbreak of hostilities with the US and Israel, raising the tally of state-sanctioned killings to levels not seen in years. Looking ahead, the regime’s willingness to execute even a promising graduate student suggests that internal security imperatives now override any concern for international backlash. As tensions with Israel over nuclear facilities and with US forces in the region persist, Tehran appears determined to project strength through judicial severity, with little sign of respite. The hanging of two more men in as many days underscores a chilling calculus: the state’s survival, in its own eyes, demands the elimination of any perceived threat, regardless of the human cost or global condemnation.