Iran executes 2 opposition members over alleged attacks on civilian sites
The judiciary's official news website, Mizan Online, reported that Behrouz Ehsani Eslamlou and Mehdi Hasani were hanged on Sunday morning after being found guilty of using improvised mortar launchers to target residential areas, educational institutions and government buildings.
The report said Eslamlou had a long history with the group, dating back to the 1980s. He was previously imprisoned, rejoining the group after his release.
Mizan said he was arrested while trying to cross the border into Turkiye. Authorities said they found firearms, ammunition, materials for assembling mortars and tools for changing his appearance in his possession.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency added that Eslamlou had been tasked by group leaders based in Albania to return to Iran and organize underground terror cells. His mission, according to the report, included training and directing attacks against both government and civilian targets.
State media reported that the two were involved in acts of vandalism against public property, gathering intelligence, filming their activities and sending the footage for dissemination through the group's affiliated media networks.
Iranian courts charged the men with several offenses, including waging war against the state, conspiracy, sabotage and membership in a terrorist organization. Prosecutors accused them of plotting to destabilize national security and damage public property.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, once a Marxist-Islamist group that opposed Iran's monarchy, backed the 1979 Islamic Revolution but later broke with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's government. It carried out a series of deadly bombings and assassinations in the 1980s and supported Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war — stances that still provoke widespread resentment within Iran. The group is now largely based in Albania but claims to operate a clandestine network inside Iran.
The last known execution of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq members before Sunday took place in 2009, following their conviction in connection with an attempted bombing in Tehran's central Enghelab Square.
The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
9 minutes ago
- CTV News
Suspect in Walmart stabbing to receive terror charge
Watch A 42-year-old man is being charged with multiple counts including an act of terrorism after a mass stabbing at a Walmart in Michigan.
CTV News
9 minutes ago
- CTV News
Suspect in Michigan Walmart stabbing to receive terror charge
Watch A 42-year-old man is being charged with multiple counts including an act of terrorism after a mass stabbing at a Walmart in Michigan Saturday.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
Syria to hold first parliamentary elections since Assad's fall in September
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, left, meets with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, center, and Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, right, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (SANA via AP) DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria will hold parliamentary elections in September, the head of a body tasked with organizing the election process told state media Sunday. Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, told state news agency SANA that elections will take place between Sept. 15 and 20. They will be the first to take place under the country's new authorities after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December. One third of the 210 seats will the appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, with the rest to be elected. In a recent interview with the Erem News site, another member of the elections committee, Hassan al-Daghim, said an electoral college will be set up in each of Syria's provinces to vote for the elected seats. A temporary constitution signed by al-Sharaa in March called for a People's Committee to be set up to serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and general elections held, a process that could take years. The announcement of impending elections comes at a time when the country is increasingly divided in its views of the new authorities in Damascus after sectarian violence broke out in the southern province of Sweida earlier this month. The fighting killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. The violent clashes, which broke out two weeks ago, were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters from the Druze religious minority. Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Some government fighters reportedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted houses. Israel intervened, launching airstrikes on government forces and on the Defense Ministry headquarters. Israel said it was acting to defend the Druze minority. The Associated Press
