Iran has enacted a sweeping espionage law allowing the death penalty for minor offences such as satellite internet use, sparking international outrage amid rising executions and economic turmoil.
TEHRAN – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has signed into law one of the country’s most sweeping espionage measures, which critics say targets ordinary citizens rather than senior officials.
The legislation, titled the Law on Intensifying Punishments for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile Countries, came into force immediately following its approval by Parliament.
Under the new law, citizens may face the death penalty for activities such as owning satellite internet devices, sharing images online, or possessing small drones.
Activists have condemned the measure as “one of the most comprehensive espionage laws in the country’s history.”
Legal experts warn the law violates Iran’s Constitution, Islamic law, and international human rights conventions. “Society cannot tolerate nor has the capacity to deal with such extensive charges,” said Hossein Raisi, a human rights law professor at Carleton University.
The law’s passage follows reports by UN experts of over 1,000 executions in the first nine months of 2025. Despite mounting criticism, parliamentarians defended the move as necessary after the “12-day war” with Israel, which allegedly exposed internal cooperation with hostile powers.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to battle hyperinflation and sanctions-linked recession, leaving many citizens fearful that repression, not reform, has become the state’s preferred response to crisis.