An Iranian accused of spying for US and Israeli intelligence was executed on Monday, according to Iran's official IRIB news agency.
Last month, Iran's judiciary claimed that Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, who was arrested in 2018, was "linked to the CIA and the Mossad" and spied on former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qassem Soleimani.
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Unconfirmed and undated photos circulating on social media and Arab media outlets on Monday purport to show a man said to be Mousavi-Majd, either standing behind or walking alongside Soleimani.
"Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, one of the spies for CIA & Mossad, has been sentenced to death. He gave the whereabouts of martyr #Soleimani to our enemies."
This pic purportedly shows him alongside #IRGC cmdr Hamedani (killed in #Syria in 2015). @secondrenaissa1https://t.co/gNuBrrnnEb pic.twitter.com/JfodkS0GF4
— Maysam Behravesh (@MaysamBehravesh) June 9, 2020
On Jan. 3, a US drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the IRGC's clandestine Quds Force. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US forces in the region.
Iran's state-run Fars news agency said Monday that Mousavi-Majd left Iran with his family as a child and grew up in Syria, and although he was never a member of the IRGC "he was able to infiltrate many sensitive areas under the guise of a translator."
The semi-official Tasnim news agency had previously said Mousavi-Majd was arrested and handed over to Iran in 2018 by Hezbollah in Syria.
He received a monthly payment of $5,000 from the CIA and the Mossad in exchange for information on Iranian forces in Syria, Tasnim claimed.
The execution comes at a time when millions of Iranians have taken to social media to protest the death sentences awarded to three men accused of participating in anti-government protests last November.
Their executions have been suspended, one of their attorneys, Babak Paknia, said on Sunday.
Rights activists said the sentences for the three men were aimed at intimidating future protesters.
Witnesses said security forces fired tear gas last Thursday to disperse demonstrators in the southwestern city of Behbahan who were protesting against economic problems but also the death sentences against the three men.
The Farsi hashtag "Don't execute" was tweeted millions of times last week.
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