Iran says it has carried out another execution linked to protests

Iranian authorities have hanged a man identified as Irfan Kayani after finding him guilty of arson and violence on behalf of Israel during protests in January, Tehran's official judicial portal reported on Saturday.

Kayani had attacked public buildings and private property in Isfahan in central Iran, the report claimed. He and accomplices are reported to have set up barricades of burning tyres and wood and of attacking security forces in the country's third-largest city.

Independent verification of the allegations is currently not possible.

The Iranian authorities have carried out a wave of executions following nationwide protests in January. Several of those executed have been accused of collaboration with foreign intelligence agencies.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights, allege that the sentences are passed after summary trials based on forced confessions. They see the executions as aimed at intimidating the population.

According to Iran Human Rights, at least 1,639 people were executed last year, more than in any year in the past 35 years.