Iran has condemned former top defence commander Ali Reza Akbari to death after he was found guilty of spying for the United Kingdom, state-affiliated media reported on Wednesday.
The judiciary determined Ali Reza Akbari, who held the position of deputy defence minister until 2001, to be a ‘major spy’ for British intelligence, according to reports from the semi-official Tasnim news agency. It stated that by providing him with incorrect information, Iranian intelligence exposed the espionage.
Furthermore, Tasnim news agency claimed to have spied on earlier nuclear negotiations between the governments of Iran and the West. Akbari was the deputy defence minister under President Mohammad Khatami, a reformer who pushed for stronger connections with the West.
Iran has been engaged in a shadow war with the US and Israel for several years that has been characterised by covert strikes against Iran’s contentious nuclear programme.
Foreign intelligence services had made significant gains, as evidenced by the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist in 2020, which Iran claimed Israel was responsible for.
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