Four people were sentenced to death on Wednesday by Iran’s judiciary for allegedly cooperating with the Israeli intelligence service and committing kidnappings, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The Islamic Republic has long accused arch-enemy Israel of carrying out covert operations on its soil. Tehran has lately accused Israeli and western intelligence services of plotting a civil war in the country, now gripped by some of the biggest anti-government protests since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Mehr named the four accused and, referring to Israel, said they were “sentenced to death for the crime of cooperating with the intelligence services of the Zionist regime and for kidnapping”.

It added: “With guidance from the Zionist intelligence service, this network of thugs was stealing and destroying private and public property, kidnapping people, and obtaining fake confessions.”

Mehr said the accused had been arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and the ministry of intelligence. Three other people were handed prison sentences of between five and 10 years for acting against national security.