Adopted on 1404/07/06 (September 28, 2025)
Confirmed on 09/07/1404 (October 1, 2025)
Effective from 16/07/1404 (October 8, 2025)
Article 1 – Any operational activities for the benefit of the Israeli government or hostile states, including the government of the United States of America, or other hostile regimes and groups, or for any of their affiliated actors, which are contrary to national security, shall result in the confiscation of all assets in compliance with the final part of Note (5) of Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code, adopted on 01/02/1392 (April 21, 2013), with subsequent amendments and additions, and the death penalty. Likewise, any intelligence or espionage activity for the aforementioned regimes, states, and groups, or any of their affiliated actors, shall result in the confiscation of all assets in compliance with the final part of Note (5) of Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code and the death penalty.
Note 1 – The proof of all offenses mentioned in this law must adhere to Article (144) of the Islamic Penal Code.
Note 2 – The US government and the Israeli government are considered hostile according to this law and other laws. In other cases, the Supreme National Security Council is the authority responsible for determining hostile states, regimes, and groups. Likewise, the Supreme National Security Council is the authority responsible for determining the cessation of hostilities.
Note 3 – “Operational activities” in the context of this article refer to actions that could endanger national security, including actions capable of killing, destroying public or private property, creating public terror, or disrupting communication networks, information systems, or the country’s critical infrastructure.
Note 4 – “Intelligence activity” in the context of this article refers to any collection of information that could endanger national security.
Article 2 – Any security, military, economic, financial, technological measures, or any direct or indirect assistance that leads to the strengthening, consolidation, or legitimization of the Israeli government shall be punished by confiscation of all assets in compliance with the final part of Note (5) of Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code and the death penalty. Otherwise, perpetrators shall be sentenced to Ta’zir imprisonment of degrees two to four, depending on the harmful consequences of the crime.
Article 3 – Any cooperation and assistance in carrying out the following actions with the intent to cooperate with the Israeli government, hostile states, or other hostile regimes and groups shall be punished by confiscation of all assets in compliance with the final part of Note (5) of Article (19) of the Islamic Penal Code and the death penalty:
a) Manufacturing, assembling parts, supplying, transferring, any kind of trading, transporting, storing, importing into the country, deploying, or any kind of use of any type of conventional or unconventional weapons, including chemical, microbiological, nuclear, whether traditional or modern, in any way capable of killing, destroying, or creating terror, or their parts and components.
b) Manufacturing, assembling parts, supplying, transferring, any kind of trading, transporting, storing, importing into the country, deploying, or any kind of use of micro-drones (including small drones and quadcopters), drones, or robots, or their parts and components with military, espionage, destructive, assassination, or disruptive functions in the country’s critical systems and infrastructure.
c) Any kind of cyber warfare, cyber attacks, disruption of communication networks, information systems, or the country’s critical infrastructure, and sabotage of public or private facilities or locations.
Note 1 – Any receipt of money or assets such as real estate, vehicles, gold, foreign currency, and any type of encrypted assets from spies or members of intelligence services, with knowledge of their affiliation, if it leads to the execution of actions covered by this article and Articles (1) and (2) of this law, shall be punished according to the penalty prescribed in the respective articles. If the perpetrator fails to act successfully due to circumstances beyond their control, they shall be punished with the penalty stated in the introductory part of this article if considered a member of enemy forces; otherwise, with Ta’zir imprisonment of degree four. If they had no intention to carry out the act from the beginning or desisted later, they shall be sentenced to a fine equivalent to the amount received.
Note 2 – The cases listed in this article, if not committed with the intent of cooperation, strengthening, consolidation, or legitimization of the Israeli government or hostile states or other hostile regimes and groups, are subject to the relevant laws.
Article 4 – Any action or cooperation in conducting political, cultural, media, and propaganda activities that create or reflect artificial damage, or the production or dissemination of false news or any type of content that typically creates public terror or is contrary to national security, if not punishable as Efsad-e fel-Arz (spreading corruption on earth), shall be sentenced by court order to Ta’zir imprisonment of degree three and permanent dismissal from government and public service. Likewise, sending films, images, or information to foreign networks, media personalities, or social media pages, if contrary to national security, as well as any sending of the mentioned items to hostile networks, media personalities, or social media pages, if not subject to a more severe penalty, shall, depending on the type of information, images, or films, result in Ta’zir imprisonment of degree five and permanent dismissal from government and public service. Also, unauthorized demonstrations and assemblies during wartime shall result in Ta’zir imprisonment of degree four.
Note – The Ministry of Intelligence is obliged to determine and publicly announce examples of hostile networks, media personalities, and social media pages within one month of this law’s effective date and update them at least every six months.
Article 5 – The use, transport, storage, purchase, sale, or import of unauthorized satellite-based internet communication devices such as Starlink for personal use is prohibited and punishable by Ta’zir imprisonment of degree six and confiscation of the equipment. Supplying, manufacturing, distributing, installing, and commissioning, as well as importing with the intent to distribute the mentioned devices, is punishable by Ta’zir imprisonment of degree five. Carrying out all the mentioned actions with the intent to oppose the system or conduct espionage is punishable by death if the perpetrator is considered an enemy force; otherwise, if not considered Efsad-e fel-Arz or Moharebeh (waging war against God) or subject to a more severe penalty, by Ta’zir imprisonment of degree four.
Article 6 – If the Ta’zir crimes mentioned in this law are committed during war or security/military situations, as determined and announced by the Supreme National Security Council, the perpetrator’s penalty may be intensified by up to three degrees.
Article 7 – The crimes covered by this law shall be tried in all procedural stages out of turn and in special branches of the Revolutionary Court, as determined by the Head of the Judiciary.
Article 8 – The trial of crimes under this law shall observe the following provisions:
- All legal deadlines stipulated in the Code of Criminal Procedure exceeding ten days, such as for service and objection, shall be ten days for crimes under this law.
- If deficiencies in the investigation are discovered during the trial of crimes under this law, the court may independently complete the investigations.
- In all cases of trial for crimes under this law, if sufficient evidence exists as determined by the investigating judge or the court, a temporary detention order until the conclusion of the trial and issuance of a final verdict shall be issued as appropriate.
- The provisions of this article do not prevent the application of Article (477) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, adopted on 04/12/1392 (February 24, 2014), with subsequent amendments and additions.
Article 9 – For crimes under this law that were also criminal before this law’s adoption, if the perpetrator started committing the crime or prepared for it, or committed the crime before this law became effective, and if they introduce themselves and all accomplices and accessories to the crime to the relevant authorities within fifteen days or report ongoing crimes, the court must apply mitigating circumstances for their Ta’zir penalty. Otherwise, the perpetrator will be sentenced to Ta’zir imprisonment of degree five in addition to the relevant Ta’zir penalty for failing to introduce themselves.
The aforementioned law, consisting of nine articles and seven notes, whose report had been submitted to the Parliament’s open session by the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, was confirmed by the Guardian Council on 09/07/1404 (October 1, 2025), after being passed in the Parliament’s public session on Sunday, 06 Mehr 1404 (September 28, 2025).
Dr. Majid Motalebi
Attorney at Law – Member of the Iranian Bar Association
Doctorate in Criminal Law and Criminology
