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Iran sentences to death nuclear scientist accused of spying for Israel

A man accused by Iran of serving as a Mossad agent has been sentenced to death.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

Iran’s Supreme Court has approved the death sentence of an Iranian researcher accused of spying for Israel.

Ahmad Reza Jalali, who has been jailed since April 2016, was shown on state TV earlier this month confessing to providing information to Israel’s Mossad spy agency about Iranian military and nuclear scientists, including two who were assassinated in 2010.

It was not clear if he was speaking under duress. Rights groups say detainees in Iran are often denied due process.

The semi-official ISNA news agency reported the court’s decision on Monday. It is not clear when the sentence will be carried out. The ruling is not subject to appeal.

Prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi told a meeting of judiciary officials on Sunday that Jalali allegedly confessed that he passed to the Mossad information related to the Iranian Defense Ministry’s and Atomic Energy Organization’s projects, including information about 30 prominent Iranians working on nuclear, defense, military and research projects.

At least four Iranian scientists were killed between 2010 and 2012. Iran accuses Israel and the United States of plotting the assassinations.

Iran had said in October that a Mossad agent it did not name had been sentenced to death, saying the suspect had given the Mossad information about dozens of nuclear and military scientists including murdered Iranian scientists Masoud Ali-Mohammadi and Majid Shahriari.