Iran executed a 29-year-old aerospace engineer on espionage charges Monday, just days after human rights groups warned of his impending death and released a prison note alleging his confession was extracted under torture.
Erfan Shakourzadeh, born in 1996, was a top graduate in aerospace engineering and satellite technology from Iran University of Science and Technology. He was working at a satellite-focused scientific organization when IRGC intelligence detained him in February 2025.
Mizan News Agency, affiliated with Iran's judiciary, labeled Shakourzadeh a "joint CIA and Mossad spy." The judiciary said he attempted to contact both agencies in three stages and passed classified information, though no evidence or legal proceedings were made public.
In a smuggled note, Shakourzadeh wrote: "I was forced to make a confession during eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement."
He was transferred Friday to Qezel Hesar prison and executed. His death brings to nearly 30 the number of people hanged by Iran in recent weeks on security-related charges.