Iran executes British-Iranian national despite UK, U.S. pleas

Iran has executed British-Iranian nationalist Alireza Akbari, the judiciary's Mizan quality bureau reported connected Saturday, aft sentencing the erstwhile Iranian lawman defence curate to decease connected charges of spying for Britain.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said precocious connected Friday Iran indispensable not travel done with the execution - a telephone echoed by the U.S. State Department. Britain had described the decease condemnation arsenic politically motivated and called for his release.

Mizan said successful a Tweet aboriginal connected Saturday the condemnation had been carried out, without saying when.

"Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to decease connected charges of corruption connected world and extended enactment against the country's interior and outer information done espionage for the British government's quality work ... was executed," it said.

The study accused Akbari, arrested successful 2019, of receiving 1,805,000 euros, 265,000 pounds, and $50,000 for spying.

In an audio signaling purportedly from Akbari and broadcast by BBC Persian connected Wednesday, helium said helium had confessed to crimes helium had not committed aft extended torture.

Iranian authorities media broadcast a video connected Thursday that they said showed that Akbari played a relation successful the 2020 assassination of Iran's apical atomic scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed successful a 2020 onslaught extracurricular Tehran which authorities blamed astatine the clip connected Israel.

In the video, Akbari did not confess to engagement successful the assassination but said a British cause had asked for accusation astir Fakhrizadeh.

Iran's authorities media often airs purported confessions by suspects successful politically charged cases.

Reuters could not found the authenticity of the authorities media video and audio, oregon erstwhile oregon wherever they were recorded.

London-Tehran ties have deteriorated successful caller months arsenic efforts person stalled to revive Iran's 2015 atomic pact, to which Britain is simply a party.

Britain has besides been captious of the Islamic Republic's convulsive crackdown connected anti-government protests, sparked by the decease successful custody of a young Iranian-Kurdish pistillate successful September.

A British overseas bureau curate said connected Thursday that Britain was actively considering proscribing Iran's Revolutionary Guard arsenic a violent enactment but has not reached a last decision.

Iran has issued dozens of decease sentences arsenic portion of the crackdown on the unrest, executing astatine slightest 4 people.

In the audio signaling broadcast by BBC Persian, Akbari said helium had made mendacious confessions arsenic a effect of torture.

"With much than 3,500 hours of torture, psychedelic drugs, and physiological and intelligence unit methods, they took distant my will. They drove maine to the brink of madness... and forced maine to marque mendacious confessions by unit of arms and decease threats," helium said.

Akbari was a adjacent state of Ali Shamkhani, present the caput of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who was defence curate from 1997 to 2005, erstwhile Akbari was his deputy.