Iran executes aerospace engineer Erfan Shakourzadeh over espionage allegations

Iran has executed a 29-year-old aerospace engineer after accusing him of spying for Israel and the United States, according to state-linked reporting.

Erfan Shakourzadeh was put to death on Monday, days after human rights organisations said he was at imminent risk of execution.

Shakourzadeh was identified as a graduate of the University of Tabriz and Iran University of Science and Technology, where he studied aerospace engineering and satellite technology.

He had been working at a scientific organisation specialising in satellites when IRGC intelligence detained him in February 2025.

The judiciary said he had tried to contact Mossad and the CIA in three stages and passed classified information to foreign intelligence services.

Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, described him as a joint CIA and Mossad spy.

The case matters because it adds to a recent rise in executions in Iran linked to alleged political activity and security offences.

Human rights groups had already warned about his case and published a note he wrote from prison saying his confession had been extracted under torture.

In that note, Shakourzadeh denied the accusations and said he had been forced to confess during eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement.

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