IRNA identified the man as Abdulmalik Rigi and said he was the leader of Jundallah. The report said he had pleaded guilty to charges of armed attacks against targets that included civilians, armed robbery, and engaging in a disinformation campaign against Iran. Iran claims Jundallah is behind an insurgency in its southeast that has destabilized the border region with Pakistan.

IRNA said Rigi was hanged in front of families who were victims of Jundallah.

Iran said Rigi was arrested in February by intelligence agents when he was flying over the Gulf en route from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. His younger brother, Abdulhamid, was executed last month in Iran after being captured in Pakistan in 2008 and extradited to Iran.

Jundallah has claimed responsibility for bombings that have killed dozens in recent years, including five senior commanders of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard last year. The group gained attention six years ago after it launched a campaign of sporadic kidnappings and bombings that killed dozens. The group claims minority Sunni tribes in southeastern Iran suffer discrimination at the hands of Iran's Shiite leadership.

Iran has accused the US and Britain of supporting Jundallah in an effort to weaken the Iranian government, a charge they deny. Iran also claims the group is linked to Al-Qaeda, but experts say no evidence of such a link has been found.

A top Sunni preacher who represents the province in the Assembly of Experts, the body which supervises the activities of Iran's supreme leader, said the people of Sistan-Baluchestan were "very happy" with Rigi's execution. "The execution of Abdulmalik Rigi is the result of his shameful acts, and other criminals should be aware that if they continue with their outrageous acts against Islam in the country, they will meet the same fate as this criminal," IRNA quoted Nazir Ahmed Salami as saying. According to the agency, Sistan-Baluchestan Gov. Ali Mohammad Azad said the people of his province had wanted Rigi to be punished.

Soon after his arrest, Jundallah claimed it had appointed Muhammad Dhahir Baluch as its new leader, the US-based SITE monitoring agency reported.