Iran Executes Nine IS Militants Amid Rising Tensions

Iran has executed nine members of the Islamic State group involved in a lethal 2018 assault, the judiciary's Mizan news agency announced on Tuesday. The country's supreme court had maintained the death penalties for those connected with the attack in the west part of Iran, where clashes with Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard led to casualties on both sides.

In the aftermath of the skirmish, authorities seized an extensive array of combat weapons, including a machine gun and 50 grenades, after surrounding the insurgents' stronghold. Iran, frequently employing hanging as its method of capital punishment, has reportedly executed an average of one person every six hours in recent months, according to Iran Human Rights director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

The sentences have drawn criticism, with claims of unfair trials and missing updates on other detainees from the 2018 incident. Although IS's influence has diminished since the group's peak, recent attacks underscore its persistent threat, including a notable June 2017 assault in Tehran that killed 18 and injured more than 50.

(With inputs from agencies.)