Iran: Tehran executes British-Iranian Alireza Akbari for espionage despite appeals

Iran executes British-Iranian Alireza Akbarithe judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported today, after sentencing him to death on charges of espionage for Britain.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said yesterday that Iran should not proceed with the execution of Akbari, a former senior Iranian defense official. Britain stressed that his death sentence was politically motivated and called for his immediate release.

“Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of corruption on the ground and extensive actions against the internal and external security of the country by spying for the intelligence services of the British government…has been executed,” Mizan news agency reported on Twitter.

Akbari, 61, was accused of receiving 1,805,000 euros, 265,000 pounds and 50,000 dollars for espionage.

In an audio clip broadcast on Wednesday by the BBC Persian service, Akbari said he confessed to crimes he did not commit after constant torture. Iranian state media on Thursday aired a video they said showed Akbari played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed in an attack outside Tehran that authorities at the time blamed Israel.

In the video, Akbari did not confess his involvement in the killing but said that a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh. Iranian state media often publicize confessions of suspects in politically charged cases.

Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the video and audio, or when or where they were filmed.

Relations between London and Tehran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, with Britain among its signatories, have stalled.

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