Iran executes two more convicted of links to banned opposition

Iran executed two men on Tuesday convicted of membership in a banned opposition group and plotting to overthrow the Islamic Republic, the judiciary said, a day after two others were hanged on similar charges.

“Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi… were executed by hanging on Tuesday after legal procedures were completed and their sentences upheld by the Supreme Court,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

The men were found guilty of attempting “rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts”, as well as membership of the banned People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) and carrying out acts of sabotage aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic.

The executions come with Iran at war with the United States and Israel following strikes on February 28 that triggered a wider regional conflict.

On Monday, Iranian authorities announced the execution of two other men convicted of links to the MEK and attempting to overthrow the Islamic republic.

It was not clear when the four men were arrested.

The MEK, which opposed the rule of the shah and initially supported the 1979 Islamic revolution before falling out with the leadership in the 1980s, has since been in exile and is designated a terrorist organisation by Tehran.

Iran is the world’s most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups.

It has carried out several executions since the war began.

On March 19, Iran executed three men accused of killing police officers during mass protests which peaked in January — the first executions related to that unrest.

In the same month Iran also executed Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, on charges of spying for Israel, drawing condemnation from Stockholm and the European Union.