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- Iran has sentenced Alireza Akbari, a former senior defense official, to death after convicting him on charges of spying for Britain
LONDON: British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Friday that Iran must not follow through with threatening to execute British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari.
“The Iranian regime should be in no doubt. We are watching the case of Alireza Akbari closely,” he said in a tweet.
Cleverly on Wednesday called for immediate release of Akbari who has been sentenced to death by the Iranian regime on charges of spying for Britain.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency published a video on Thursday which it said showed that British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari played a role in the assassination in 2020 of the country’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
The US also said it “echoes the British government’s strong call for Iran not to proceed with this execution,” and called for Akbari’s immediate release.
“The charges against Alireza Akbari and his sentencing to execution were politically motivated. His execution would be unconscionable,” said Vedant Patel, the US State Department’s deputy spokesman.
The State Department said that it will hold the Iranian regime accountable for killing its people and the brave protesters, adding that Tehran has caused chaos in the region and the world.
The US also said that negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement are not currently on its agenda.
The comments come a day after Leo Docherty, UK under secretary of state at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, revealed to Parliament that Britain is considering designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, but has not yet taken a final decision.
(With Reuters)