Tehran - There
is a lot of news about the arrest of dual nationals in Iran on charges of espionage for foreign intelligence services, but the announcement of the death sentence against Ali Reza Akbari, the former deputy defense minister of Iran, fell like a thunderbolt on Iranian public opinion, which was divided between those who praise the strength of the security services. Catching the "super spy" and others they fear is only the tip of the iceberg.
A few days after the news was leaked to social media and the speculation it raised in order to identify the suspect, the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency put an end to the controversy by announcing the death sentence against Akbari on charges of espionage for the Foreign Intelligence Service (Secret Intelligence Service). ) British.
The agency described the verdict against the convict as final, stressing that "the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict."
On the other hand, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described Akbari's arrest as "politically motivated by a barbaric regime that completely ignores human life." In a tweet, he wrote, "Iran must stop the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari and release him immediately." ".
The announcement of the verdict against Akbari coincides with the return of tension in Iranian-Western relations after the nuclear negotiations reached a dead end, and the exchange of accusations between Tehran and European capitals regarding the recent protests in Iran, as the latter accuses the West of interfering in its internal affairs.
Akbari is one of the personalities close to Ali Shamkhani and served as his deputy between 1997 and 2005 (European)
super spy
And the Iranian Ministry of Security revealed - in a statement - that the convict, who had held high positions and penetrated sensitive strategic centers, fell into their trap through a long and complex intelligence monitoring process, confirming that he had been leaking sensitive information to British intelligence.
The statement indicated that Akbari fell into the trap of British security as a result of his association with the British Embassy to obtain an entry visa, which paved the way for his full employment during his visits to European countries, adding that high-ranking officers supervised the extraction of information from Akbari during the last period.
On the other hand, the media center of the Iranian judiciary stated that Akbari had already been convicted of "the crime of corruption on earth and widespread actions against national security" by knowingly leaking sensitive information on many occasions abroad.
Positions and responsibilities
Akbari, who was arrested in 2019, is considered one of the personalities close to Ali Shamkhani, Secretary General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, and he served as his deputy between 1997 and 2005 when he was Minister of Defense during the era of reformist President Muhammad Khatami.
For its part, Tasnim Agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, listed the positions that Akbari held during the past decades, according to the following:
Assistant Ministry of Defense for External Relations.
Adviser to the Commander of the Naval Force of the Iranian Army.
Assistant for Defense and Security Affairs at the Strategic Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense.
Assistant to the head of the military organization that oversaw the implementation of UN Resolution 598 that ended the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).
The agency quoted its sources as saying that Akbari had conveyed information about the nuclear negotiations and influential figures in the Islamic Republic, including the head of the secret military program in the country, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in 2020 in the Damavand region, east of the capital, Tehran, and disclosed the methods adopted by Tehran to circumvent Western sanctions.
ice top
Iranian observers believe that the discovery of such a spy is evidence of the country's security penetration, and that the assassinations of a number of its nuclear scientists and sensitive information that is being leaked about its nuclear program suggest the existence of a mountain of spies that Akbari may represent only its top.
On the other hand, a group of Iranians are trying to read between the lines of the Ministry of Security statement, which confirms that "British intelligence does not know any of the information it obtained from the spy if it was forged and directed by Iranian security."
In 2008, the Iranian security services arrested Ali Reza Akbari on charges of espionage for foreign intelligence, then released him on bail, after which he left for Britain, which opens the door to speculation that he cooperated with the Iranian side to transfer false information to London.
James Cleverly: Iran must stop the execution of British citizen Alireza Akbari and release him immediately (Reuters)
Eli Cohen
Meanwhile, the Iranian writer Farhad Farzad compares the Iranian super spy with the Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was discovered in Syria in 1965, describing Akbari as "an important and influential element during the past two decades" and that he was a member of the Iranian negotiating team headed by Ali Larijani.
In a commentary published by the "Ruwaidad 24" news website, Farzad wonders if Akbari's arrest was legitimate to overthrow the Secretary-General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, stressing that he is the only reformist who still sits on the throne of an important constitutional institution, while the other movement controls Other government institutions.
Months ago, the Iranian media reported on Shamkhani's resignation from his post, and soon the rumor was denied by the Noor News Agency, which is close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council.