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Iran has executed a 29-year-old aerospace engineering graduate who was convicted of allegedly passing classified information to the CIA and Israel’s Mossad, according to reports from Iranian state media.

Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency identified the man as Erfan Shakourzadeh and claimed he had been employed at a scientific institution connected to the country’s satellite and aerospace programs. Authorities accused him of transferring sensitive intelligence to foreign spy agencies.

Shakourzadeh, who studied at the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran, was arrested in February 2025 on charges of espionage and alleged collaboration with hostile foreign governments.

Human rights organizations strongly challenged the legitimacy of the case and accused Iranian authorities of extracting a confession through abuse and coercion. The Iran Human Rights Society stated that Shakourzadeh’s admissions were forced, while the Norway-based rights group Hengaw alleged that he spent nine months in solitary confinement undergoing severe physical and psychological torture.

According to Hengaw, Shakourzadeh maintained his innocence before his execution and wrote that he had been “arrested on fabricated espionage charges.”

The execution took place amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington over the ongoing conflict and stalled diplomatic negotiations.

On Sunday, Iran formally rejected an American proposal intended to end the war, with Iranian media portraying the offer as “Tehran’s submission to Trump’s excessive demands.”

Iranian leaders have continued refusing demands to relinquish enriched uranium stockpiles, while President Donald Trump dismissed Tehran’s latest response as “totally unacceptable.”

The collapse in negotiations contributed to rising oil prices and renewed declines in stock markets as fears of further regional escalation intensified.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu sharply criticized the European Union on Monday night after EU foreign ministers approved sanctions targeting Israeli individuals and organizations accused of involvement in violence against Palestinian Arabs, while simultaneously sanctioning senior Hamas operatives.

In a forceful statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu accused European leaders of creating an immoral comparison between Israeli civilians and Hamas terrorists at a time when Israel and the United States are battling radical Islamist forces.

“As Israel and the US are ‘doing Europe’s dirty work’ by fighting for civilization against Jihadist lunatics in Iran and elsewhere, the European Union exposed its moral bankruptcy by drawing a false symmetry between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The statement further defended Jewish communities in Yehuda and Shomron and rejected any attempt to punish Israelis living there.

“European politicians are coerced by their radical constituencies but sanctioning Jews for living in Judea and Samaria is unacceptable. Judea is where Jews come from and Israel will always protect the rights of Jews to live in the heart of our ancestral homeland,” the statement added.

“The European Union’s attempts to sanction Israeli civilians is a further sign of weakness and will not succeed,” it concluded.

The European Union’s decision was announced following a meeting of EU foreign ministers by Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Kallas said the European Union had approved penalties against what she described as violent Israeli settlers, alongside measures targeting Hamas leadership.

“gave the go-ahead to sanction Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians.”

“They also agreed on new sanctions on leading Hamas figures,” Kallas stated.

“It was high time we moved from deadlock to delivery. Extremism and violence carry consequences,” she added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also denounced the EU action, arguing that the sanctions were politically motivated and lacked justification.

“Israel firmly rejects the decision to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and organizations,” Sa’ar stated, adding, “The European Union has chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis.”

Sa’ar also objected strongly to what he called an outrageous comparison between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists.

“Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence,” he stated.

He reaffirmed Israel’s longstanding position regarding Jewish communities in Yehuda and Shomron.

“Israel has stood, stands, and will continue to stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland.”

{Matzav.com}