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Who was Mohsen Langarneshin, Mossad spy executed in Iran today?
The man, identified as Mohsen Langarneshin, was hanged after being convicted of aiding Israel’s foreign intelligence agency in the killing of Colonel Khodaei.
The man, who was accused of being a Mossad spy and playing a key role in the high-profile 2022 assassination of a senior Revolutionary Guard colonel, Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, in Tehran, was executed on Wednesday, state media reported.
According to AP, the man, identified as Mohsen Langarneshin, was hanged after being convicted of aiding Israel’s foreign intelligence agency in the killing of Colonel Khodaei.
The accused was a “senior spy” for the Mossad and provided them “technical support” in the assassination, the official IRNA news agency report said.
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In 2022, Colonel Sayyad Khodaei was gunned down in broad daylight by two assailants on a motorbike outside his Tehran home.
At the time of his assassination, local media identified Khodaei only as a “defender of the shrine,” a reference to Iranians who fight against the extremist Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq within the Guard’s elite Quds force that oversees foreign operations.
Who was the Mossad spy executed today?
Mohsen Langarneshin, as identified by Israeli authorities, was a senior Mossad spy. He was recruited by Langarneshin in 2020 and he met with Israeli intelligence officers in Georgia and Nepal, IRNA news agency reported.
The report further alleged that Langarneshin facilitated logistics for other agents by renting safe houses across Iran, including in Isfahan.
His activities were also linked to a drone strike on a military facility in Isfahan in January 2023. Iran has accused Israel of being behind the attack.
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Langarneshin was tried and confessed in Iran's Revolutionary Court, a secretive judicial body notorious for handing down severe sentences and limiting defendants’ rights, including restricted legal representation and no media access.
The court was established following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is known for meting out harsh punishments to those who oppose Iran’s clerical rulers. It usually provides a court-appointed lawyer and doesn’t allow media access.
The report said Langerneshin confessed in Iran's Revolutionary Court.
(with AP inputs)
