Iran hangs spy
Alireza Akbari allegedly spied for Britain’s MI6.
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Saturday executed former top defense official and dual British national Alireza Akbari, who was accused of spying for United Kingdom intelligence, the judiciary reported.
Akbari was executed after being sentenced to death for “corruption on earth and harming the country’s internal and external security by passing on intelligence,” the judicial news agency Mizan Online reported.
Britain has demanded that Tehran halt what foreign minister James Cleverly has called a “politically motivated” execution.
The United States on Friday joined Britain in calling for Tehran to stand down on “possibly imminent” plans to execute Akbari.
US diplomat Vedant Patel said Friday that “the charges against Alireza Akbari and his sentencing were politically motivated. His execution would be unconscionable.”
On Thursday, state media had reported that 61-year-old Akbari had held high positions in the country’s defense establishment.
His posts included “deputy minister of defense for foreign affairs” and a position in the “secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council.”
Akbari had also been an “advisor to the commander of the navy” as well as “heading a division at the defense ministry’s research center.”
Akbari, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war that raged from 1980 to 1988, was arrested sometime between March 2019 and March 2020, state media said.
Mizan, citing a statement from Iran’s intelligence ministry, had said earlier this week that Akbari became a “key spy” for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, more commonly known as MI6, due to “the importance of his position.”