Iran executed four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, state media reported Monday.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said the men were convicted of planning on targeting a factory in 2022 that belonged to Iran's Defense Ministry and being involved in missile and defense equipment in the central city of Isfahan.

The executions of the men — identified as Mohammad Faramarzi, Mohsen Mazloum, Vafa Azarbar and Pejman Fatehi — were carried out after the Supreme Court upheld their sentences, handed down by another court in September.

Mossad allegedly engineered the operation, and the four were trained in an African country before entering Iran, IRNA said.

Iran has long accused Israel of sabotage attacks

Tehran has long accused Israel of being behind a series of suspected sabotage attacks or targeted killings of nuclear scientists in Iran to damage Iran's nuclear program.

In December, Tehran executed four people and sentenced several others for having alleged links with Mossad, according to local media. Earlier in December, Iran executed another man on charges of releasing classified information to Mossad. In August 2023, Iran accused Israel of trying to sabotage its ballistic missile program. 

Israel views Iran as its greatest threat and has repeatedly threatened to take military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran has long ranked among the world's top executioners. But the executions have increased at an "alarming rate," a United Nations report said last year.

Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli militant groups across the region, including the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant Hamas group, which is listed as a terrorist organization in several countries.

rm/rc (AP, AFP)