This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Iranian media reported that authorities have executed a man convicted of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported on June 22 that Jalal Hajizavar, a former contractor at the aerospace division of the Defense Ministry, was convicted by a military court after a yearslong investigation.
IRIB said he was executed at the Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, without providing further details.
Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency said Hajizavar “explicitly confessed to spying for the CIA” in return for money, adding that “documents and espionage devices were found at his house.”
Hajizavar’s ex-wife was convicted of “involvement in espionage” and sentenced to 15 years in prison, ISNA reported.
The reports came amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States over the shooting down of an unmanned U.S. drone by Tehran.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 21 that he came within minutes of executing military strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of the Navy drone.
