Iran Warns of Executions and Asset Seizures for Espionage as MOIS Intensifies Wartime Crackdown
Iran executed two political prisoners on April 5 and publicly warned of further executions and asset seizures for anyone convicted of spying or aiding hostile states, as the intelligence ministry (MOIS) exploits the cover of war to accelerate domestic repression. The regime has executed 657 people in the first three months of 2026, on pace to surpass last year's record. Security forces have arrested more than 1,500 people since
The new Law for Strengthening Punishment lowering evidentiary thresholds for espionage capital sentences is designed to deter cooperation with CIA and Mossad human intelligence networks inside Iran. If MOIS successfully chills source recruitment, it could degrade the intelligence support enabling precision targeting in Operation Epic Fury, the same HUMINT networks that former CIA officer Polymeropoulos identifies as critical yet potentially insufficient.