The three convicted men were spying “for the occupation regime (Israel)” under “the pretext of smuggling alcohol,” Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told in a news conference.
Jahangir also said that the three defendants, whose names and sentencing dates were not provided, “attempted to bring material into the country to assassinate nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh” in 2020.
Iranian Jew executed
Fakhrizadeh was shot dead with a remote-controlled firearm in the Absard area of Tehran province, in a killing that Iran called “state terrorism” and blamed Israel for.
The scientist was considered by Western intelligence services to be the director of Iran’s alleged secret program to develop nuclear weapons and died in hospital from injuries sustained in the attack.
Iranian authorities yesterday executed Arvin Ghahremani, a 20-year-old Iranian Jew convicted of murder, after the victim’s family initially agreed to a “diyya” (financial compensation), but changed their minds and demanded the execution after discovering his religion. Iran hints it could change its nuclear doctrine to “defend itself”
The sentences announced today come amid a new escalation of tension between Iran and Israel, which killed five Iranians a few days ago in an attack against Iran, in response to the launching of 180 missiles against its territory last October after the deaths of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, and Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah.
