Iran executes 2 men for political crimes

Washington Post, TEHRAN - Iran executed Tuesday two men convicted of political crimes, one a member of an armed opposition group and the other a spy for Israel, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The agency identified the alleged spy as Ali Akbar Siadat, saying he was arrested in 2009 after having provided Israel with details on the number of Iranian combat planes, military flights and the navigation systems of aircraft belonging to the Revolutionary Guards. According to the report, Siadat met with Israeli agents in Turkey, Thailand and the Netherlands.

In 2008, Iran executed a communications specialist for allegedly providing Israel with information.

The other man executed Tuesday had been in and out of prison for the past three decades, accused of involvement with the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) organization, a foreign-based opposition movement.

Family members told human rights groups that the man, Ali Saremi, had visited the MEK in neighboring Iraq, but only to meet with his brother, who is a member of the group.

The executions follow a rise in the number of political prisoners sentenced to death in Iran recently, with authorities saying that most of those convicted were endangering national security.

In January two men were hanged after being convicted of involvement in protests, and in May, four Iranian Kurds and another man accused of terrorism were executed. Family members have disputed the allegations.