Iran executes British-Iranian national for alleged spying, says report

Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said on Saturday (January 14) that British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari had been executed. He was handed death sentence on charges of spying for Britain. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had sounded a warning on Friday against Akbari's execution. Cleverly had termed Akbari's death sentence to be politically motivated and had called for his immediate release.

"Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of corruption on earth and extensive action against the country’s internal and external security through espionage for the British government's intelligence service ... was executed,” Mizan said in a tweet.

It accused him of receiving 1,805,000 euros, 265,000 pounds, and $50,000 for spying.

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In an audio recording broadcast by BBC Persian on Wednesday, Akbari said he had confessed to crimes he had not committed after extensive torture.

Iranian state media broadcast a video on Thursday that they said showed that Akbari played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in a 2020 attack outside Tehran which authorities blamed at the time on Israel.

In the video, Akbari did not confess to involvement in the assassination but said a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh.

(With inputs from agencies)