Iran executed a man on death row on Saturday after he was found guilty of collaborating with Israeli intelligence, the judiciary announced.
“The death sentence carried out this morning against a spy of the Zionist regime in Zahedan prison” in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, the online judicial website Mizan Online reported.
According to AFP, it did not identify the man but said he had been convicted of “intelligence cooperation and espionage for the benefit for the hostile Zionist regime (Israel)”.
He was also found guilty of “collecting and providing classified data to Mossad spies with the aim of disturbing public order,” Mizan added.
It was not immediately clear when or where the man was arrested or put on trial.
Iran has already announced the arrest of suspected agents applying for foreign countries, Israel, its archenemy in the region.
In December 2022, Iran hanged four more people convicted of collaborating with Israeli intelligence.
Tehran accuses Israel of wearing down a wave of sabotage attacks and assassinations on its nuclear program.
The United States and Israel accuse Iran of using drones and missiles to attack US forces and Israel-linked ships in the Gulf.
According to human rights groups and Amnesty International, Iran executes more people a year than any other country in China.
The United States has warned North Korea that any nuclear attack on the country or its allies “is unacceptable and will result in the end of (Kim Jong) Un’s regime,” a joint U. S. -South Korean meeting said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a North Korean diplomatic delegation is visiting China to discuss strengthening cooperation, North Korean state media reported on Saturday.
The Indian Navy said on Saturday it was tracking a bulk carrier it boarded through unknown attackers – believed to be Somali pirates – in the Arabian Sea.
The Maltese-flagged MV Ruen with a team of 18 people sent a message from Mayday on the U. K. ‘s maritime advertising operations portal on Thursday saying six other unknown people had boarded the ship, the Indian Navy said in its statement.
The navy responded to the distress call by sending its anti-piracy patrol warship and maritime patrol aircraft to locate and assist the vessel, it added.
The plane flew over the hijacked ship early Friday and has been frequently tracking the movements of the ship, which the Indian Navy said was headed for the Somali coast. He added that his warship, deployed to the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy patrols, also intercepted the aircraft carrier early Saturday.
The Ruen, which was crossed by the Bulgarian shipping company Navibulgar, off the Yemeni island of Socotra when it boarded on Thursday, personal intelligence corporation Ambrey and UKMTO said. The Bulgarian government stated that the ship’s crew consisted of citizens of Angola, Bulgaria and Myanmar.
“Steps have been taken to transmit the data to all foreign partners and establishments on which we depend for the provision of aid,” Bulgarian Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel told reporters on Friday.
No organization claimed responsibility for the assault. However, suspicion fell on Somali pirates. His business has plummeted in recent years. Somali piracy has declined in recent years, but there are fears it could resume amid political uncertainty in the country and wider chaos in the region, adding attacks on ships via Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.
On Friday, the UKMTO issued a warning to carriers, saying the Ruen’s protection officer “believes the equipment is no longer on the ship. “
The European Union’s anti-piracy force in the region said the Spanish frigate Victoria was on its way to intercept the “ship suspected of being hijacked by pirates. “
A North Korean diplomatic delegation is visiting China for talks on strengthening cooperation, North Korean state media said on Saturday, as Pyongyang slowly opens its borders and resumes industry with its neighbors after the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Ho and his counterpart Sun Weidong discussed strengthening strategic cooperation and bilateral relations on Friday, KCNA said in a statement, giving details.
References to North Korean officials traveling to China to speak publicly about political issues have been rare since January 2020, when North Korea closed its borders to curb the spread of COVID.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September was his first stop abroad since before the pandemic.
Russia and Ukraine have reported dozens of attempted drone strikes in the past day, just hours after Hungary vetoed 50 billion euros ($54. 5 billion) in EU investments for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 30 of the 31 drones introduced overnight into regions of the country.
Russia claimed late Friday to have thwarted a series of Ukrainian drone strikes.
Russian anti-aircraft teams destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones over the Crimean Peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram. Russia annexed the peninsula to Ukraine in 2014, a move most countries in the world considered illegal, and used it as a transit and war.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry had shot down six drones in the Kursk region, bordering Ukraine.
In the occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Russian Governor Vladimir Saldo reported on Telegram that Russian anti-aircraft teams had shot down at least 15 aerial targets near the city of Henichesk.
Meanwhile, shelling wounded two people in Ukrainian-held parts of the Kherson region, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Saturday.
The escalation of drone strikes over the past month comes as both sides are keen to show they are not at a stalemate as the war nears its two-year end. Neither side has gained much ground despite the Ukrainian counteroffensive introduced in June, and analysts expect the war to be a long one.
On Friday, EU leaders sought to paper over their inability to boost Ukraine’s coffers with a promised 50 billion euros ($54.5 billion) over the next four years, saying the check will likely arrive next month after some more haggling between the other 26 leaders and the longtime holdout, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary.
Instead, they sought to make Ukraine rejoice at getting the green light to start accession negotiations that could mark a big change in its fortunes, even if the process could take more than a decade and be fraught with hurdles for any member. state.
The UN refugee firm said on Friday that participants in a primary forum aimed at finding answers to the global refugee crisis had pledged more than $2. 2 billion for refugees and their host countries.
“Participants demonstrated leadership, vision and creativity in finding answers to many problems,” U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement.
“They have, above all, made a commitment to continue working together to improve the lives of millions of refugees around the world.”