TEHRAN -- Iran’s judiciary
announced on Saturday the execution of Hussein Pedaran, convicted of espionage and providing sensitive information on military sites in Isfahan province to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
The judiciary said Pedaran had supplied Mossad with classified information about military sites, personnel, and their personal details which enabled terrorist U.S and Israeli forces to target a number of sensitive Iranian military sites.
In his confessions, Pedaran said he initially contacted the CIA through its website, introducing himself as someone with access to military institutions and expressing willingness to cooperate, but received no response.
He then similarly contacted Mossad and received a response after approximately 10 to 15 days. A Mossad officer using a Dutch WhatsApp number introduced himself as “Ben,” requested Pedaran’s national ID card, and instructed him to be online at specified times.
After Mossad officers verified his identity, Pedaran began sending information requested by the service through online communications in the form of encrypted text files sent via email, after receiving training in encrypted communications.
The information requested about individuals reportedly included their workplace, place of residence, means of communication,
interests, and hobbies, as well as their spouses’ phone numbers and internal workplace regulations.
Technical investigations and decryption of messages exchanged between Pedaran and Mossad officers following his capture showed that some of the locations he had provided information about were subsequently targeted during the 12-day war, while some personnel at those sites were killed or wounded.
The court ruling stated: “The damage caused to the country by the defendant as a result of espionage and providing information to enemy services was so extensive and disastrous that it led to the martyrdom and injury of a number of combatants.”
During a search of Pedaran’s home, investigators found a notebook containing training information related to missile systems, classified as “highly confidential” and containing information that remained potentially usable, according to the judiciary.
Several encrypted memory devices were also found, along with a remote device provided by Mossad capable of secretly taking photographs and recording video.
The judiciary said Pedaran received technical equipment for intelligence gathering in addition to financial support. According to his statements, he received several payments in euros from Mossad, collected from a magnetic box behind a guardrail near a Tehran bridge and from a coffee shop bathroom.
The agency also sent him a financial contract referring to monthly and annual salaries, expenses and bonuses.
Pedaran had reportedly cut off contact with Mossad for a period before Israel attacked Iran. However, after the attack began, he attempted to re-establish contact with the agency through Telegram and was subsequently arrested by Iranian security forces.
Prosecutors brought charges including espionage and intelligence cooperation in favor of Israel, as well as attempting to establish intelligence cooperation with the United States by submitting a request for cooperation and expressing willingness to work with the U.S. intelligence service. The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out by hanging.