Iran hangs three men over January 2026 unrest, citing work for Israel

Iran has executed three men who were convicted over their part in unrest during the anti-government protests of January 2026, according to Iranian state media as relayed by several Israeli news outlets. The Times of Israel reported that state media described the men as having been convicted of taking part in armed unrest and of carrying out operations on behalf of Israel and the United States.

Israeli broadcaster N12's foreign desk said the three were found guilty of involvement in violent riots during the protests, citing Iran's state media. The news site Ynet, in a short alert, described the three as protesters against the regime and said they had been accused of "collaboration with Israel". None of the reports named the men, gave the method of execution or said where they were held.

Who is making the claims

All three Israeli outlets attribute the information to Iranian sources rather than to their own reporting inside Iran. The Times of Israel and N12 both name Iranian state media as the origin. Ynet refers more loosely to reports in Iran. Israeli news organisations do not operate openly in Iran, and the two countries have no diplomatic relations, so accounts of judicial proceedings there typically reach Israeli readers through Iranian official outlets.

That matters because the description of the men, their alleged acts and the charges against them all come from the Iranian state. The accusations of working for Israel and the United States have not, in any of these reports, been supported by evidence made public, and no response from Israel or the United States was reported.

How the outlets framed it

The three reports agree on the core facts: three men, executed, over the January 2026 protests, according to Iranian official channels. They differ in emphasis. The Times of Israel headline and text stress that the unrest was armed and that the men were accused of operations for both Israel and the US. N12 speaks of violent riots and does not mention any foreign link. Ynet calls the men anti-regime protesters and puts the alleged Israeli connection at the centre, in quotation marks, signalling that the phrase is Iran's own charge rather than an established fact.

Those differences reflect a gap that often appears in coverage of Iranian prosecutions: the authorities describe defendants as violent or as agents of hostile states, while outside observers may describe the same people as demonstrators. The reports here do not resolve which description fits these three men, and this article does not attempt to.

The January 2026 protests

The executions are tied by Iranian media to anti-government demonstrations in January 2026. The Times of Israel illustrated its report with an Associated Press photo of Iranians at an anti-government protest in Tehran, the capital, during that month. The reports do not give further detail on the scale of those protests, the number of people detained afterwards or how many others face charges in connection with them.

Why Israel features in the charges

Iran's leadership regards Israel as an enemy state, and Iranian authorities have often linked domestic dissent to foreign powers, including Israel and the United States. For readers outside the region, the significance of this case lies partly in that framing: the men were not only accused of unrest at home but, according to state media as cited by The Times of Israel, of acting on behalf of Israel and the US. That allegation is attributed solely to the Iranian state in all the material available.

What the reports do not say

• The names, ages and hometowns of the three men have not been reported.
• No evidence has been published for the claim that they carried out operations for Israel or the United States.
• None of the reports describes the trials, the courts involved, whether the men had legal representation or whether they appealed.
• No reaction from the Israeli government, the US government or human rights organisations has been reported.
• It is not stated whether other people convicted over the January 2026 protests are awaiting execution.