Iran executes two alleged spies

Iranian authorities have executed two men after they were charged and convicted for spying Israel and the United States.

Iran has repeatedly accused Israel and the U.S. of carrying out covert intelligence operations following ongoing pressure on the country over its nuclear programme, which the Western nations suspect as being used to build an atomic weapon, despite Tehran's insistence that the programme is meant for peaceful purposes, BBC News reports.

Tehran's prosecutor's office said that Persian santoor player and songwriter Mohammad Heydari has been found guilty of revealing 'security issues and national secrets' to the intelligence experts, the Israeli Mossad agents in exchange for cash, while Kourosh Ahmadi had been convicted of providing intelligence reports to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Iran's Fars news agency reported that the order for the executions was given at dawn by Tehran's Revolutionary Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court.