Iran executes 6 inmates over attacks on Israel’s behalf

Iran executed six death-row inmates on Saturday for carrying out attacks in the country's oil-rich southwest on the behalf of Israel, the latest prisoners to be put to death in a wave of executions believed to be the highest in decades.

The executions follow the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June, which ended with Tehran vowing it would target its enemies at home and abroad. However, activists warn Iran often relies on coerced confessions and closed-door trials in its death penalty cases, particularly those involving Israel.

Iran said the men killed police officials and security forces, as well as orchestrated bombings targeting sites around Khorramshahr in Iran's restive Khuzestan province.

Their names weren't immediately recognisable and Iranian state television aired footage of one of the men talking about the attacks, saying it was the first time the details were being made public.

The Arab population of Khuzestan has long complained of discrimination by Iran's central government, and insurgent groups have attacked oil pipelines there as part of a low-level insurgency.

The region also has been roiled like other parts of Iran in the waves of nationwide protests the country has seen in recent years. Iran separately put to death another inmate Saturday it accused of killing a Sunni cleric in 2009 in Iran's Kurdistan province, among other crimes.