Iran’s judiciary said the two men, identified as Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, were involved in armed attacks against security personnel and assassination plots in western parts of the country.

“Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour were hanged for membership in separatist terrorist groups, forming a group with the aim of disrupting the country’s security, armed rebellion through the formation of criminal groups, shooting and carrying out assassination attempts,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online news outlet reported.

The judiciary did not specify when the two men were arrested but said they had undergone training to become “leaders in the unrest.”

The executions are the latest in a broader increase in capital punishments since fighting erupted between Iran, the United States and Israel in February.
Iranian authorities have carried out multiple executions linked to anti-government unrest earlier this year, as well as cases involving alleged espionage and national security offenses.

Earlier this month, Tehran executed a man convicted of passing information to Israeli intelligence services. Iranian authorities had previously also executed an aerospace engineering student on similar espionage-related charges.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly criticized Iran’s use of the death penalty. Rights groups rank Iran as the world’s second-highest executioner after China.

The executions come amid heightened domestic security measures and increasing political tensions following months of regional conflict and internal unrest.

The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said Erfan Kiani was hanged after the country’s Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, describing him as one of the “main operatives” involved in an operation allegedly directed by Mossad during unrest in the central province of Isfahan in January.

Authorities accused Kiani of participating in sabotage and violent attacks during the protests, which officials say were orchestrated by foreign-backed groups seeking to destabilize the country.

According to the judiciary, he was charged with “destruction of public and private property, arson, possession and use of Molotov cocktails, carrying a bladed weapon, blocking vehicle routes, attacking officers, and creating fear and panic among citizens.”Iranian officials said the activities formed part of a “mission assigned by Mossad,” Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, although no independent evidence was publicly presented.

The execution follows the hanging on Thursday of another man convicted of membership in a banned opposition organization, continuing a broader wave of capital punishment linked to unrest and national security charges.Iran has sharply increased executions since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on Feb. 28, when U.S.-Israeli strikes triggered a wider regional conflict and heightened internal security measures across the country.

Authorities have linked January’s protests to what they describe as coordinated interference by Israel, the United States, and exiled opposition groups, including the banned People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran.Since March 19, Iranian authorities have executed at least nine men on charges connected to those protests, according to official statements.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized Iran’s use of the death penalty, particularly in cases involving political dissent, espionage accusations, and national security prosecutions.According to groups including Amnesty International, Iran is the world’s second most prolific user of capital punishment after China.

Tehran maintains that such executions are necessary to preserve national security and deter what it calls foreign-sponsored subversion during wartime conditions.

The latest case is likely to draw renewed international scrutiny over Iran’s judicial process and its handling of security-related prosecutions amid escalating regional tensions.