Tehran [Iran], January 14: Iran has pronounced the death sentence to a former Deputy Defence Minister, on spying charges. He also holds dual Iranian-British citizenship, reported Iranian state media on Wednesday.
Criticizing the charge, Britain interpreted the death sentence as having a political motive and demanded Alireza Akbari's immediate release. From the British side, Foreign Minister James Cleverly asked for Akbari to be freed.
Rejecting the death sentence of Akbar, Cleverly wrote on Twitter, "Iran must halt the execution of British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari and immediately release him. This is a politically motivated act by a barbaric regime that has total disregard for human life."
Akbari was closer to Ali Shamkhani, presently the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and was a Defence Minister from 1997 to 2005 during which time Akbari served as his deputy.
"He was one of the most important agents of the British intelligence service in Iran who had access to some very sensitive centres in the country. Akbari had fully knowingly provided information to the enemy's spy service," said Iran's Intelligence Ministry in an official statement.
Akbari was arrested in 2019 and had been together with Shamkhani since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
His death sentence has been confirmed by Iran's Supreme Court, Nournews, an Iranian news agency affiliated with the country's top security agency, reported.
Commenting on the issue, a spokesperson from the UK Foreign Office said "Our priority is securing his immediate release and we have reiterated our request for urgent consular access."
Iran does not recognise dual nationality status and has been at conflict with Western nations, including Britain, over what it perceives as their meddling in its internal affairs amid months of anti-government rallies.
Source: LeMatinal Newspaper
