The “Law on Intensifying the Punishment for Espionage”: New Tool for Fast-Tracking Executions in Iran

Law on Intensifying the Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States against National Security and Interests

Date of adoption: 28 September 2025

Date of publication: 15 October 2025

Article 1

Any operational action carried out for the Zionist regime or hostile governments, including the government of the United States of America or other hostile regimes and groups, or for any of their affiliated agents, against the security of the country, shall be punishable by confiscation of all assets, in compliance with the latter part of Note (5) to Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code adopted on 21 April 2013, with its subsequent amendments and additions, and by the death penalty.

Likewise, any intelligence or espionage activity for the said regimes, governments and groups, or any of their affiliated agents, shall be punishable by confiscation of all assets, in compliance with the latter part of Note (5) to Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code, and by the death penalty.

Note 1 – The realisation of all offences under this Law shall be subject to Article (144) of the Islamic Penal Code.

Note 2 – From the perspective of this Law and other laws, the United States government and the Zionist regime are deemed hostile. In other cases, the authority for determining hostile governments, regimes and groups shall be the Supreme National Security Council. The authority to determine any cessation of hostility shall also be the Supreme National Security Council.

Note 3 – What is meant by “operational action” in this Article is any action that could endanger the security of the country, including actions that are capable of causing killing, destruction of public or private places or property, creating public fear and terror or disrupting communication networks, information systems or the country’s infrastructure.

Note 4 – What is meant by “intelligence activity” in this Article is any collection of information that could endanger the security of the country.

Article 2

Any security, military, economic, financial or technological action or any direct or indirect assistance which results in strengthening, consolidating or conferring legitimacy upon the Zionist regime shall render the perpetrator liable to confiscation of all assets, in compliance with the latter part of Note (5) to Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code, and to the death penalty. In other cases, the perpetrators, having regard to the harmful consequences of the offence, shall be sentenced to ta’zir (discretionary) imprisonment of the second to fourth degree.

Article 3

Any cooperation or assistance in carrying out the following acts, with the intent of cooperating with the Zionist regime or hostile governments or other hostile regimes and groups, shall render the perpetrator liable to confiscation of all assets, in compliance with the latter part of Note (5) to Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code, and to the death penalty:

(a) The manufacture, assembly, supply, transfer, any form of dealing in, transport, storage, import into the country, use or any form of utilisation of any conventional or unconventional weapons, whether cold, firearms or otherwise, including chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, whether traditional or modern, in any manner that is capable of causing killing, destruction or creating fear and terror, or their parts and components.

(b) The manufacture, assembly, supply, transfer, any form of dealing in, transport, storage, import into the country, use or any form of utilisation of micro-aircraft (including small drones and quadcopters), drones or intelligent (robotic) devices or their parts and components, for military, espionage, destructive, terrorist or disruptive use against vital systems and the country’s infrastructure.

(c) Any form of cyber warfare, cyber attacks, disruption of communication networks, information systems or vital infrastructure of the country and sabotage of public or private facilities or premises.

Note 1 – Any receipt of money or property, such as real estate, vehicles, gold, foreign currency or any type of crypto-asset from spies or persons affiliated with intelligence services, with knowledge of their affiliation, where it leads to the commission of the acts covered by this Article and Articles (1) and (2) of this Law, shall be punishable, as the case may be, by the penalties prescribed in those Articles. If the perpetrator, for reasons beyond their control, does not succeed in carrying out the act, they shall, if considered part of enemy forces, be subject to the penalty in the opening sentence of this Article, and otherwise shall be sentenced to fourth-degree ta’zir imprisonment; and if they never intended to commit the act from the outset or later desisted, they shall be sentenced to a cash fine equivalent to the amount received.

Note 2 – The matters set out in this Article, where they are not for the purpose of cooperating with, strengthening, consolidating or conferring legitimacy upon the Zionist regime, hostile governments or other hostile regimes and groups, shall be governed by the relevant laws.

Article 4

Any act or cooperation in carrying out political, cultural, media or propaganda activities, creating and reflecting artificial damage, or preparing or disseminating false news or any type of content which by its nature causes public fear and terror or is contrary to national security, shall, where it does not fall under the punishment for efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth), be punishable, at the discretion of the court, by third-degree ta’zir imprisonment and permanent dismissal from state and public employment.

Likewise, sending films, images or information to foreign networks, “human-media” outlets or foreign virtual pages, where contrary to national security, as well as any sending of such items to hostile networks, “human-media” outlets or hostile virtual pages, shall, where it is not subject to a more severe punishment, be punishable, depending on the type of information, images or films, by fifth-degree ta’zir imprisonment and permanent dismissal from state and public employment. Unlawful marches and gatherings during wartime shall be punishable by fourth-degree ta’zir imprisonment.

Note – The Ministry of Intelligence is obliged, within one month from the date this Law enters into force, to identify and publicly announce the instances of hostile networks, “human-media” outlets and hostile virtual pages, and to update this list at least once every six months.

Article 5

The use, carrying, possession, purchase, sale or import of unlicensed satellite-based electronic internet communication devices such as Starlink for personal use is prohibited and shall be punishable by sixth-degree ta’zir imprisonment and confiscation of the equipment.

The provision, production, distribution, installation, operation and import for the purpose of distribution of such devices shall be punishable by fifth-degree ta’zir imprisonment. Carrying out any of the aforesaid acts for the purpose of confronting the system (the state) or espionage, where the perpetrator is considered an enemy force, shall be punishable by the death penalty; otherwise, where it does not constitute efsad-fil-arz, moharebeh (enmity against god) or a more severe punishment, it shall be punishable by fourth-degree ta’zir imprisonment.

Article 6

Where the ta’zir offences set out in this Law are committed during wartime or security/military situations, as determined and announced by the Supreme National Security Council, the punishment of the perpetrator shall be increased by up to three degrees.

Article 7

Offences under this Law shall be examined at all stages of proceedings as a matter of priority and out of turn, in special branches of the Revolutionary Court designated by the Head of the Judiciary.

Article 8

Proceedings in offences under this Law shall be conducted in compliance with the following rules:

1. All statutory time limits exceeding ten days set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure, such as those for service of notice and lodging objections, in relation to offences under this Law, are fixed at ten days.

2. Whenever, in the course of examining offences under this Law, the court finds that there are investigative deficiencies, it may itself proceed to complete the investigations.

3. In all cases of proceedings regarding offences under this Law, where there is sufficient evidence, a remand in custody order shall, at the discretion of the prosecutor or the court as the case may be, be issued until the conclusion of the proceedings and issuance of a final judgment.

4. The provisions of this Article shall not prevent the application of Article (477) of the Code of Criminal Procedure adopted on 23 February 2014, with its subsequent amendments and additions.

Article 9

In relation to offences under this Law which were already criminal before the adoption of this Law, where the perpetrator, prior to the Law’s entry into force, has begun committing the offence, or has prepared its preliminaries, or has completed the offence, if they and other principals and accomplices present themselves within fifteen days to the relevant authorities or report the offences in progress, the court shall be obliged to apply mitigating factors to their ta’zir punishment. Otherwise, due to their failure to present themselves, the perpetrator shall, in addition to the relevant ta’zir punishment, also be sentenced to fifth-degree ta’zir imprisonment.

The above Law, consisting of nine Articles and seven Notes, the report of which had been submitted to the open session of the Parliament by the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was approved in the public session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Sunday, 28 September 2025, and was confirmed by the Guardian Council on 1 October 2025.