Iran Hears 1,895 Espionage Cases as Second War Continues

Iranian judiciary officials revealed on Tuesday that at least 1,895 active cases involving allegations of espionage are currently under review. The figures include 94 media workers accused of collaborating with Israel or other hostile states. The announcement comes eight months after the United States and Israel launched a second joint military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Ali Kazemi, the spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, provided the numbers during a briefing earlier this month. He stated that police forces had recorded at least 21,000 arrests in the immediate aftermath of the June 2025 conflict. A separate count shows that at least 50,000 individuals were detained during the nationwide protests that erupted in January 2026.

The scale of the security crackdown has intensified since the first war began in June 2025. Former Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea described the strategy used by his agency during that conflict. He stated that Mossad agents entered Iran with clear sabotage assignments. To protect these operatives, Israeli officials released footage of agents with visible Mossad logos. This tactic led to the arrest of thousands of Iranian citizens who had no actual connection to the intelligence service.

Barnea, who served as Mossad director until June 2026, claimed the strategy succeeded in keeping most assets unidentified. He noted that agents remained embedded in Tehran, living their lives. The current conflict aims to overthrow the government, and Iranian authorities maintain that foreign intelligence operations seek to fragment the country.

The Ministry of Intelligence labeled these combined efforts a hybrid war. The ministry stated in May that enemies are using espionage, sabotage, and economic manipulation to destabilize the state. Judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has cited wartime conditions to justify urgent security measures. He argued that accelerating punishments for alleged collaborators protects the nation.

Executions linked to security charges have risen sharply. The United Nations reported that 19 people were hanged in espionage cases between June and December 2025. Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based nonprofit, recorded 16 espionage defendants executed between January and September 2026. That organization tracked at least 604 total executions by early October. Amnesty International reported 34 executions linked to the January protests by October 13, including five carried out between September 30 and October 5.

Analysts suggest the regime is using the espionage threat to suppress dissent. Saeid Golkar, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, noted that the regime has historically used perceived security threats to expand its coercive apparatus. He said the current crackdown reflects both legitimate counterintelligence concerns and efforts to intimidate society.

Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, drew a distinction between spying and dissent. She stated that criticizing the government or reporting on its failures does not constitute espionage. She argued that authorities have blurred this line, treating political opposition as an extension of foreign intelligence activity. An independent United Nations fact-finding mission said the authorities committed crimes against humanity during their most violent crackdown since the revolution.

The government has also targeted communication tools. Authorities view the Starlink satellite internet service as a tool of war used for espionage and drone operations. Tens of thousands of terminals have been smuggled into the country despite severe penalties for use. Iran imposed a near-total internet shutdown for 88 days at the start of the current war. The government warned that the global internet remains severely filtered and could be disrupted again during military escalation.

Sending images to networks deemed hostile, such as BBC Persian, can result in prison sentences of 10 to 15 years. Combined with other offenses, these actions can lead to charges of corruption on Earth, which carry the death penalty. The judiciary continues to process the active cases as the second war persists.