‘CIA spies’ arrested and sentenced to death

Iran has said it has arrested 17 Iranian nationals allegedly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency to spy on the country’s nuclear and military sites and that some of them have already been sentenced to death.

The arrests took place over recent months. Those taken into custody worked on “sensitive sites” in the country’s military and nuclear facilities, an Iranian intelligence official told a press conference in Tehran.

He did not say how many of them were sentenced to death or when the sentences were handed down.

US president Donald Trump tweeted the claim had “zero truth”, calling Iran a “total mess”. The announcement comes as Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers is unravelling and tensions have spiked in the Persian Gulf region. The crisis stems from Mr Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the agreement last year and intensify sanctions on the country. It is rare in Iran for intelligence officials to appear before media without identifying themselves.

The official claimed that none of the 17, who allegedly had “sophisticated training”, had succeeded in their sabotage missions.

Their spying missions included collecting information at the facilities where they worked, carrying out technical and intelligence activities, and transferring and installing monitoring devices, he said.

The official further claimed the CIA had promised US visas or jobs in America.