An Israeli intelligence agent accused of stealing secrets has been executed in Iran, Iranian media has said.

The unidentified agent was linked to foreign intelligence services, including the national agency of the State of Israel Mossad, and charged with releasing secret information, Iranian state news agency IRNA said.

The execution was carried out by the country’s judiciary body in a prison in Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan, on Saturday.

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The accused had handed classified information to a “Mossad officer” with the aim of fuelling “propaganda for groups and organisations opposed to the Islamic Republic”, the report said.

It did not say where the alleged handover had taken place or when the person was arrested, but IRNA said an appeal had been rejected.

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In April 2022, Iranian intelligence officers arrested three people they said belonged to a group linked to Mossad. It is not clear if the executed person was one of them.

It comes a day after Baluch militants attacked a police station in the impoverished province, killing 11 security personnel and wounding several others.

A state funeral was held on Saturday for the men in the town of Rask where the attack took place, according to state television.

Two militants of the Jaish al-Adl group were also killed in ensuing clashes.

Sistan-Baluchestan province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, has long been the scene of frequent clashes between security forces and Sunni militants.

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The population of the province is predominantly Sunni Muslim, while most Iranians are Shia.

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Iran and Israel have accused each other of spying and waging a shadow war for years.

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

Iran denies it is seeking such weapons and has vowed a harsh response to any aggression.

Iran occasionally announces the detention of people it says are spying for foreign countries, including the United States and Israel.

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In 2020, Iran executed a man convicted of leaking information to the US and Israel about a prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guard general who was later killed by a US drone strike in Iraq.

Iran does not recognise Israel and supports anti-Israeli armed groups across the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas.

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