
Iran executes three prisoners accused of spying for Israel in brutal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
IRAN executed three more prisoners accused of spying for Israel as it launched a major crackdown in the wake of the 12-Day War.
The three men - named as Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul - were hanged yesterday morning.
The trio were paraded on State TV in blue prison uniforms after being convicted of espionage.
At least six men have been killed in the past 10 days on the orders of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A further 700 have been rounded up and arrested.
Iran human rights boss, Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, said: 'After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic Republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival.
'Executions are the Islamic Republic's most important tool for instilling societal fear, and in the coming days and weeks, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners might be at risk of execution.'
In May, a young son of a British couple imprisoned in Iran on spying charges revealed how devastated he was after hearing of his parents' arrest.
Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman have spent almost 150 days in jail since being detained during a round-the-world motorbike trip.
The Brits entered Iran despite being warned by the Foreign Office and their family to avoid passing through the notoriously strict state.
The couple, both in their 50s, were held back in January on unspecified espionage charges.
The Iranian government continues to claim they were 'posing as tourists' to gather intelligence against the Middle East nation.
Ever since their incarceration, the pair have hardly spoken to their loved ones and mainly had contact with the Foreign Office.
Secret Iranian fortress Trump's bombs CAN'T reach: Fears ultra-secure 'Pickaxe' mountain is perfect nuclear hiding place
1
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Iran news live: Donald Trump says strikes on Iran were ‘devastating attack' amid row over claims of success
Update: Date: 2025-06-26T06:34:10.000Z Title: Trump claims US strikes on Iran were 'devastating' with 'new intelligence' supporting success Content: Donald Trump's administration ratcheted up its defence of the US's weekend attacks on Iran, citing 'new intelligence' to support its initial claim of complete success and criticising a leaked intelligence assessment that suggested Tehran's nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months. The growing row came amid reports that the White House will to try to limit the sharing of classified documents with Congress, according to the Washington Post and the Associated Press. 'This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,' Trump said on Wednesday, apparently backing away from comments he'd made earlier in the day, that the intelligence was 'inconclusive'. Senior Trump officials publicly rejected the leaked initial assessment of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which concluded key components of the nuclear programme were capable of being restarted within months. Director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a post on X that 'new intelligence confirms' what Trump has stated. She said: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do. CIA director John Ratcliffe in a statement said that new intelligence from a 'historically reliable' source indicated that 'several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.' Update: Date: 2025-06-26T06:27:15.000Z Title: Welcome and summary Content: Hello and welcome to the Guardian's continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Donald Trump's administration has cited 'new intelligence' to support its initial claim of complete success of the US's weekend attacks on Iran, while criticising a leaked intelligence assessment that suggested Tehran's nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months. The growing row came amid reports that the White House will to try to limit the sharing of classified documents with Congress. 'This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,' Trump said on Wednesday, apparently backing away from comments he'd made earlier in the day, that the intelligence was 'inconclusive'. The claim comes after the US president hit back at a leaked intelligence report that said US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities had likely only set back the country's nuclear programme by a few months. Trump had earlier criticised CNN and the New York Times for their reports on the leaked intelligence assessment, claiming they had teamed up to 'demean one of the most successful military strikes in history', and declared Iran's nuclear sites were 'completely destroyed'. The White House earlier called the intelligence assessment 'flat-out wrong'. In other key developments: US senators are also set to meet with top national security officials on Thursday as many question President Donald Trump's decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump decides to strike Iran again. Donald Trump has weighed in on ally Benjamin Netanyahu's long-running corruption trial, saying in a social media post that the trial was a 'witch hunt' and should be cancelled. 'Bibi and I just went through HELL together, fighting a very tough and brilliant longtime enemy of Israel, Iran, and Bibi could not have been better, sharper, or stronger in his LOVE for the incredible Holy Land,' Trump said on Wednesday night, using a nickname for the Israeli leader. US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Politico on Wednesday that Iran is 'much further away from a nuclear weapon' after a US strike on Iran's three main nuclear sites over the weekend. There is a chance that much of Iran's highly enriched uranium survived Israeli and US attacks because it may have been moved by Tehran soon after the first strikes, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. Trump said the US will hold talks with Iran next week, with a possible agreement on the table about Tehran's nuclear programme. The US president said that Israel and Iran are 'tired' but the conflict between the two countries could start again. Speaking alongside the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump compared the US strikes on Iran to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying: 'This was essentially the same thing: that ended that war; this ended the war.' Mark Rutte defended Donald Trump's swearing outburst on Tuesday when commenting on the Israel-Iran war. 'Daddy sometimes has to use strong language,' Rutte told reporters. France is conducting its own analysis on damage to Iran's nuclear facilities after US and Israeli strikes, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters on Wednesday. Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, according to officials and activists. Iran's parliament approved a bill on Wednesday to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, state-affiliated news outlet Nournews reported. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf was quoted by state media as saying Iran would accelerate its civilian nuclear programme.


Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Trump-Iran live: President teases 'irrefutable' news conference about bombing - and says US will 'save' Netanyahu
Donald Trump says defence secretary Pete Hegseth will hold a "major news conference" today about the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. He also says the US will "save" Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu from a "witch hunt". Listen to Trump 100 below as you scroll.


The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Pro-Iran protests are alarming. Why do people hate Israel?
Now that Israel - and the United States - have taken military action against Iran (the authoritarian state that sponsors anti-Israel terrorist groups like Hamas) and its nuclear program, many so-called pro-Palestinian protests have morphed into pro-Iran demonstrations. Over the weekend, such protests took place around the country - and the world. Activist groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement and the People's Forum that applauded the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, are the same ones that rallied in New York City to oppose the attacks on Iran. "We demand an immediate end to US and Israeli attacks on Iran and its sovereignty," the groups said in a statement on Sunday, June 22. It would be one thing if this were just an anti-war movement. But it's much more than that. That's evident from the people carrying signs in support of Iran and against Israel. It's no surprise that anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who led the disruptive and often violent protests at Columbia University in 2024 and was recently freed from months in federal immigration detention, joined one of the anti-Israel demonstrations wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Similar events were held in other Western cities, including London. It makes me wonder: Do these activists really know whom - and what - they're supporting? Opinion: Trump is winning on immigration - and Democrats are falling right into his trap In Iran, freedom does not exist. So what are Westerners thinking? I would rather think these protesters are cheering for terrorists out of ignorance or stupidity than that they honestly side with the religious extremists who exert full control over the Iranian people. But it's hard to tell. The National Students for Justice in Palestine, for instance, put out a statement on Instagram: "The empire will fall, from Gaza to Tehran," which called Israel a "Zionist vassal state" of the United States. The same group openly celebrated the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. One thing is certain. Many of those who are chanting in favor of Iran and Palestine - particularly women and LGBTQ+ people - would not be treated favorably in either country. The human rights abuses in Iran are well-documented. Amnesty International sums up the situation in Iran this way: "Authorities further suppressed the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Women and girls, LGBTI people, and ethnic and religious minorities experienced systemic discrimination and violence. Authorities intensified their crackdown on women who defied compulsory veiling laws, the Baha'i community, and Afghan refugees and migrants. Thousands were arbitrarily detained, interrogated, harassed and/or unjustly prosecuted for exercising their human rights. Trials remained systematically unfair. Enforced disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment were widespread and systematic. Cruel and inhuman punishments, including flogging and amputation, were implemented. The death penalty was used arbitrarily, disproportionately affecting ethnic minorities and migrants." Opinion: Democrats scream democracy is in peril ... while proving that it's absolutely fine Most Iranians don't support the regime they live under. Americans should know better. It's jarring to see so many people in America, which has the greatest set of freedoms in the world, cheering for a regime that has zero respect for the rights of its citizens. Abbas Milani, codirector of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution, recently told Fox News that 80% of Iranians are opposed to the ruling regime, although most live in fear of expressing what they really think. Opinion: Imagine surviving the Holocaust only to be attacked in America. It happened in Colorado. On the day Israel launched its air strikes on Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Iranian people via video that Israel was "clearing the path for you to achieve your objective, which is freedom." Following the Israeli strikes, one Iranian, on the condition of anonymity, told the BBC: "The enemy has been killing us slowly for decades. The enemy is the Islamic Republic!" Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. It's a shame that Americans - and others in the Western world - would rather cheer for the authoritarians than for the freedom of an oppressed people. Standing up for Iranians' freedom actually would be something worth fighting for. Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@ or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques