Britain’s response to Iran’s death penalty

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed dissatisfaction with the execution of Alireza Akbari.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today he was “appalled” by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran. British Foreign Secretary Cleverley condemned the execution and said they would not be silent. Iran then summoned the British Ambassador in Tehran to the Foreign Office.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the announcement today after Iranian media reported on the execution of Alireza Akbari, who was previously Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister and was detained in 2019 on charges of espionage. “I am shocked by the execution of Anglo-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran,” Sunak said in a statement.

Iranian media said that Akbari was engaged in activities for British intelligence and provided information on 178 high-ranking Iranian officials. Akbari was also noted to have played a role in the assassination of Iran’s most prominent nuclear physicist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in 2020. Iranian media said that Akbari received 1,805,000 euros, 265,000 pounds and 50,000 dollars from British intelligence agencies such as MI6 using his bank accounts in Austria, Spain and England.

“WE WILL NOT BE SILENT”

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said yesterday: “The Iranian regime should not be in doubt. We are closely following the case of Alireza Akbari. “Iran should not respect the threat of a brutal execution,” he said. After Akbari’s execution, the foreign minister condemned the incident and said that Iran had executed a British citizen and they would not be silent.

IRAN CONTACTED BRITAIN AMBASSADOR TO TEHRAN AT MFA

Iran summoned the country’s ambassador to Tehran following Britain’s “interventionist statements” against former Iranian-British Deputy Defense Minister Ali Reza Akbar, who was executed on charges of “spying for Britain.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a written statement that Simon Shercliffe, the country’s ambassador to Tehran, was summoned to the ministry “in response to unusual British interference, including in Iran’s national security.”

Noting that Iran has “convincing evidence” of a link between the executed former official and British intelligence, the British government must “account for its unusual reporting against Iran’s national security,” the statement said.

The statement stated that Iran does not accept dual citizenship under its own laws and that “UK interventions and destructive statements” against the executed former Deputy Defense Minister Akbari are unfounded.

It was reported that Shercliffe, who was called to the ministry, was asked to convey Iran’s objection on the issue to his country, and the British ambassador said that Tehran would mirror its position on London.