TEHRAN: An Iranian court has sentenced three persons to death for spying for Israel and complicity in the 2020 assassination of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary reported on Tuesday.
Fakhrizadeh, a prominent figure in Iran’s nuclear and defence programs, was killed in a targeted attack near Tehran, an incident for which Iran has long held Israel responsible.
The death sentences were issued by the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. Judiciary Spokesman Asghar Jahangir said that the convicted persons had provided critical support to facilitate the assassination, Mizan reported.
They were accused of “committing espionage for Israel” and transferred equipment into Iran that was used in the attack. The convicts are said to have concealed the equipment within shipments of alcoholic beverages.
The spokesman said that eight persons had been detained in Iran’s West Azarbaijan province following an investigation by Iranian security forces, which had been monitoring potential espionage networks in several regions. He said that three of those detained now face execution after being found guilty, adding that the case is currently in the appeal stage.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran’s Chief Prosecutor Ali Salehi filed criminal charges against 14 suspects in 2022. These suspects face accusations ranging from “corruption on earth” to collusion to undermine national security and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
Fakhrizadeh, head of Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, died from injuries sustained in an armed assault on his vehicle in the Absard district, approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Tehran, on November 27, 2020. His death was widely attributed by Iranian authorities to Israeli involvement.
Reports following the incident described the assassination as a sophisticated operation involving advanced technology. According to a ranking commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Fakhrizadeh’s convoy was attacked using a remote-controlled machine gun integrated with artificial intelligence.
