Salesman hanged in Israeli spy rowIran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, a judiciaryspokesman said yesterday. Ali Reza Jamshidi said Ali Ashtari was hangedon 17 November after being sentenced to death on 30 June by a court inTehran. It was the country’s first known conviction for espionagelinked to Israel in almost a decade. Jamshidi said Ashtari was foundguilty of relaying sensitive information on military, defence andresearch centres to Israeli intelligence officers.
The 45-year-oldelectronics salesman supplied military, security and defence centresacross Iran. Iranian officials said the material that Ashtari passed toIsrael included information on Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation. AIranian security official said the announcement of Ashtari’s hangingwas part of an ‘intelligence battle’. — Source