Iran on Tuesday said that it has jailed two men over spying for Britain, Germany and Israel, the latest in a string of espionage cases that have led to arrests and executions.
Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told reporters that the two would each serve 10 years behind bars.
The Web site of Iranian state television quoted Esmaili as saying that one of them, Massud Mossaheb, had been “spying for [Israeli spy agency] Mossad and Germany” under the guise of being general secretary of an Austrian-Iranian society.
Mossaheb was found to have provided them with information on Iran’s “missile, nuclear, nanotechnology and medical fields.”
The second man, Shahram Shirkhani, had been working for British intelligence, the spokesman said.
Shirkhani sought to “corrupt authorities and recruit” people, as well as give away information on “contracts related to the central bank, Melli Bank and the defense ministry,” he added.
Five more people have been arrested for alleged espionage in the foreign, defense and industry ministries, companies working in the energy industry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Esmaili said.
He did not give their identities or elaborate on charges.
The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said that it was not given access to Austrian-Iranian Mossaheb in custody or to his trial, due to his status as a dual national.
Efforts “for the prisoner’s release will continue undiminished,” the ministry said in a statement.
Iran does not recognize dual nationality, but considers dual nationals as subject to Iranian laws.
Iran has announced several detentions and in some cases executions of people found guilty of spying by its courts.
The latest was Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, a former translator executed last month for spying for the US and Israel, including helping to locate Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani, who was later killed in Iraq by the US.
Iran last month executed another man, Reza Asgari, after he was convicted of spying on Iran’s missile program for the CIA.
In February, Tehran handed down a similar sentence for Amir Rahimpour, also convicted of spying for Washington and of conspiring to sell information on Iran’s nuclear program.
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