Nine people face the death penalty in Iran for their alleged involvement in the assassination of a leading nuclear physicist.

In the case of the murdered scientist Mohsen Fakhrisadeh, they are accused of "corruption on earth" and collusion with Israel, both capital crimes in Iran, said justice spokesman Massoud Setayeschi in Tehran on Tuesday.

In addition, "other allegations" were made against six other defendants.

Fakhrisadeh was killed in an attack on his car near Tehran in November 2020.

According to Iranian authorities, the attack was carried out with a bomb and a remote-controlled machine gun.

Tehran blamed Israel for the attack.

The scientist was under US sanctions for his role in Iran's nuclear program when he was killed.

Israel has never commented on the killing.

In September, Tehran's chief prosecutor, Ali Salehi, announced the indictment of 14 suspects in the case.

The allegations against them included "collusion aimed at disrupting national security" and "acts against national security," Salehi said at the time.