Iran’s judiciary has opened investigations into 20 individuals arrested over alleged links to Israel in the aftermath of last month’s 12-day conflict between the two countries.
“These cases were immediately filed under the supervision of esteemed investigators and are being examined,” Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told reporters in Tehran on Saturday, August 9. He said more details would be released as the legal process advances.
In late July, Iran’s intelligence ministry announced it had detained “20 spies, Mossad operational and support agents, and elements connected to the regime’s intelligence officers” in Tehran and several other provinces.
The arrests follow Israel’s unprecedented mid-June bombing campaign on Iranian soil, which killed senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and hundreds of civilians. Targets included military and nuclear facilities as well as residential areas. Iran retaliated with a barrage of missile and drone strikes.
Tehran has vowed swift justice for those accused of aiding Israel. “The judicial system will not show any mercy in dealing with spies and Zionist agents and will teach a lesson to all spies… with firm rulings,” Jahangir warned.
Just days earlier, on Wednesday, August 6, Iranian authorities executed Roozbeh Vadi, a former employee of the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute. He was convicted of spying for Israel by passing sensitive information about nuclear sites and scientists. According to state media, Vadi had co-authored academic research with nuclear scientists Ahmad Zolfaghar and Abdolhamid Minouchehr, both of whom were killed during the recent hostilities.
