Iran has executed a journalist accused of involvement with a Sunni militant group blamed for a spate of attacks in the south-east, officials have said.

Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said Yaqoub Mehrnehad and another man were hanged on Monday in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Mr Mehrnehad was convicted in February of being a member of Jundallah and of "crimes against national security".

He was arrested in Zahedan last year while reporting for a Tehran newspaper.

Reports say the journalist also ran a charity apparently focused on improving childhood education.

Sistan-Baluchistan province, which borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been affected by smuggling, drug trafficking, banditry and kidnapping. Its population is mainly made-up of the Baluchi ethnic group who are Sunni Muslims.