The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today, Saturday, the summoning of the British ambassador to Tehran, Simon Shercliffe, hours after the execution of Ali Reza Akbari, the former Iranian deputy defense minister, on charges of spying for British intelligence.

And the ministry considered - in a statement - that the move came "in response to the unconventional interferences of the United Kingdom, including in the field of national security of the Islamic Republic."

It also noted that "gratuitous and deceptive support for a spy agent is inconsistent with claims of mutually respectful relationships."

Tehran held the UK government "responsible for conducting unconventional contacts" targeting Iran's national security.

Earlier today, the Iranian judiciary announced the execution of Ali Reza Akbari - who holds dual Iranian and British nationalities - on charges of spying for the British intelligence agency "MI6" (MI6) and acting against state security inside and outside the country, as he put it.

Akbari was close to Ali Shamkhani, Secretary General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, who held the position of Minister of Defense between 1997 and 2005, and at that time Akbari was his deputy.

Iranian intelligence said that British intelligence attracted Akbari while he was traveling to Europe, and he obtained British citizenship after that.

Iranian intelligence accused Akbari of spying on sensitive and strategic centers in the country (Reuters)

British and international condemnation

In the reactions, Britain described Akbari's execution as "barbaric" and said it would not go unpunished.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his shock and described - in a tweet on Twitter - Akbari's execution as "a cruel and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime that does not respect human rights," as he put it.

I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran.

This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people.

My thoughts are with Alireza's friends and family.

- Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 14, 2023

As for British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, he said that this execution - which he described as a barbaric act - requires condemnation in the harshest terms, indicating that this act will not remain without a response.

Today, Saturday, Amnesty International condemned - on Twitter - Iran's "heinous attack" on the "right to life."

The organization said the execution was "new evidence of its heinous attack on the right to life," calling on the British government to "fully investigate" allegations that Akbari appears to have been tortured.

In the same context, the French Foreign Ministry said - in a statement - that it had summoned the Iranian charge d'affairs in Paris today due to the execution of a British-Iranian citizen accused of espionage.

She added that she had warned Tehran of repeated "violations" of international law, noting that it "could not go unanswered", especially with regard to the treatment of foreign nationals held by Iran.