The semi-official Fars news agency on Tuesday said a man sentenced to death in Iran for spying for the CIA and attempting to pass on information about Tehran’s nuclear programme would be executed soon.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said in another case, two people working for a charity were sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying and five years in prison for acting against national security on similar charges.
“Amir Rahimpour who was a CIA spy and got big pay and tried to present part of Iran’s nuclear information to the American service had been tried and sentenced to death and recently the supreme court upheld his sentence.
“He will see the consequences of his action soon, (referring to the individual facing capital punishment).’’
Esmaili did not provide any additional information about the nationality of the convicted individuals working for a charity.
Iran does not recognise dual nationality and the judiciary prosecutes dual nationals as Iranian citizens.
Earlier, Iran announced it had broken up a CIA spy ring of 17 individuals and that some had been sentenced to death.
The CIA did not immediately comment on Esmaili’s remarks.
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted after the announcement last summer, `the Report of Iran capturing CIA spies is totally false. Zero truth.’’
Tensions have increased between Tehran and Washington since the U.S. killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed in a drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting the Islamic Republic to retaliate with a missile strike against a U.S. base in Iraq.
Esmaili said at a news conference that names of the individuals working for the charity would not be released yet because the sentence had not been
finalised.