Iran: Iran declares "more serious intelligence war" with Israel as spy is executed

Iran has hanged an Iranian telecoms salesman convicted of spying for Israel, a senior official said on Saturday, warning that a “more serious intelligence war” had begun with the Jewish state.

“Ali Ashtari, who spied for the Zionist regime intelligence service (Mossad) was hanged on Monday, November 17,” the state news agency IRNA said, quoting the intelligence ministry’s counter-espionage director, whose name was not given.

“He had spied for Mossad for three years,” the official said, adding that “his espionage was so evident” that there had never been any hope of a successful appeal against the verdict.

Ashtari, 45, had been accused of involvement in a plot run by the Israeli secret services to intercept the communications of Iranian officials working in the military and its nuclear programme. He was arrested in February 2007 and sentenced to death by a revolutionary court last June.

“By announcing Ashtari’s execution we meant to show new intelligence wars have started with the intelligence services of the enemy and intelligence wars have become more serious,” the official said.

Published by Mike Hitchen, mikehitchenconsulting.com
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