Tehran, Iran – The Iranian judiciary Mizan News Agency announced early Wednesday morning, March 18, 2026, the execution of Kourosh Keyvani, who was convicted of espionage and sending information
and photographs of sensitive areas to officers of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency.
This occurred during what is known as the “Twelve-Day War.”
Precise timing and the assassination of the intelligence minister
The execution comes at a highly sensitive time, coinciding with the official announcement by Israeli officials on Wednesday
that Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatibzadeh had been killed in an airstrike targeting Tehran.
Observers believe that the accelerated pace of executions represents a retaliatory tool
and a repressive approach employed by the Islamic Republic against dissidents to intimidate the public,
especially after the repeated executions of figures like Ali Ardestani and Aqil Keshavarz on similar charges in recent months.
Hollywood-style accusations and primitive equipment
The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),
claimed that Kivani was arrested in June 2025 in the city of Savjbulagh.
He was allegedly found in possession of €30,000, sophisticated espionage equipment, a truck, and a motorcycle.
The official narrative claimed that Mossad recruited him in Sweden in 2023 through an advertisement for a group trip.
He also received training in six European countries and in Tel Aviv before returning to Iran to carry out sabotage missions,
including “disabling missile launch systems and guiding Israeli drones.”
Absence of justice and sham trials
Despite the seriousness of the charges, which included installing communication devices with fighter jets,
the trial proceedings lacked even the most basic standards of transparency.
Kifani’s defense was not published, and he was denied access to a lawyer of his choosing;
instead, a court-appointed lawyer was assigned to him.
The irony of the official narrative lies in the fact that state-affiliated media outlets,
such as the Fars News Agency, published footage showing a list of his “intelligence” equipment.
This list included only a laptop and a simple welding machine.
This raises serious doubts about the credibility of the evidence and the legality of his conviction.
