The US State Department on Friday condemned the Islamic Republic's execution of political prisoner Babak Shahbazi this week as proof of what it called Tehran's use of the death penalty to scotch opposition.
Shahbazi, a father of two, was detained in January 2024 and later convicted of “spying for Israel” and “corruption on earth,” charges he denied before his execution early Wednesday.
The State Department said his execution "underscores the Iranian regime’s instrumental use of capital punishment to silence dissent and instill fear."
"Shahbazi, accused of espionage, was convicted in a grossly unfair trial based on forced confessions obtained under torture," it said in a post on its Persian-language X.
Rights groups have described the proceedings as grossly unfair and based on forced confessions obtained under torture.
His initial sentence was handed down in May 2025 by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for presiding over unfair trials, extracting forced confessions, and imposing harsh sentences on political prisoners and journalists.
"Shahbazi’s case highlights the regime’s reliance on fabricated evidence and brutal tactics, including solitary confinement and physical abuse, to suppress opponents," the State Department said.
"The United States condemns this injustice and, while standing with the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and dignity, remains committed to exposing the regime’s human rights violations."
Thousands of people in Iran face the risk of execution amid what Amnesty International on September 10 called a deepening execution crisis, with death sentences handed down after unfair trials and on vaguely worded charges such as enmity against God and corruption on earth.
The rights group said more than 800 people had been executed in 2025 so far, nearly double the pace of last year, and warned that thousands more remain under investigation or prosecution on capital charges, including drug-related offences and accusations of espionage.
Since the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, Amnesty said, Iranian authorities have “weaponized the death penalty as a tool of oppression”.
In June, following Israel’s airstrikes and a 12-day war with Iran, officials intensified calls for swift trials and executions for those accused of collaborating with Israel. Parliament has also advanced legislation to expand the use of capital punishment, pending approval by the Guardian Council.
"This reprogramming action provides funding for the replacement of defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense expended in support of Israel or identified and notified to Congress for provision to Israel," the document said.
The budget document dated August 1, is titled Israel Security Replacement Transfer Fund Tranche 9, and requested $498.265 million in funding for THAAD systems alone.
“Funds are required for the procurement of replacement THAAD Interceptors expended in support of Israel. This is a congressional special interest item. This is an emergency budget requirement,” the document said.
The War Zone reported that the US fired more than 150 THAAD missiles during the Iran war alone.
The publication also said details of US bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities, known as Operation Midnight Hammer, are only just coming to light now, though the full cost is still unknown.
The US announced it had deployed THAAD defences in Israel in October, more than a year after the Gaza war broke out, seeing Iran's allies in the region firing on the Jewish state from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
It also came after Iran's second direct attack on Israel when hundreds of missiles and drones were fired in a massive aerial barrage.
"This reprogramming action addresses funds for the replacement of defense articles expended in support of Israel through US combat operations executed at the request of and in coordination with Israel and for the defense of Israeli territory, personnel, or assets during attacks by Iran, and subsequent or anticipated attacks by Iran and its proxies," the document said.
The documents show the extent of the cost of the US military's defense of Israel and also the cost of weapons that American forces used during their extensive bombing of Iran’s three main nuclear facilities in June, Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.
Among the funds requested were those to "replace GBU-39s expended during Operation Midnight Hammer in support of Israel", the document detailed. "This is a congressional special interest item. This is an emergency budget requirement."
Made by US defense contractor, Lockheed Martin, THADD intercepts short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, engaging targets directly at ranges of 93 to 124 miles both inside and outside the atmosphere.
Each THAAD battery system requires around 100 soldiers, and has been used to help defend Israel from ballistic missiles from both Iran and its military ally, the Houthis, in Yemen.
US Missile Defense Agency documents say that each THAAD interceptor costs roughly $12.7 million, and now there are concerns about insufficient American stockpiles.
In addition to Iranian attacks, Israel says dozens of drones and ballistic missiles have been fired from Yemen to Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war. The Iran-backed Houthis say their actions are in allegiance with Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza.
During the 12-day war in June, Iran fired over 500 ballistic missiles in response to Israel’s surprise attacks on June 13, in which dozens of military and nuclear figures were killed.
