Britain has imposed sanctions on the Iranian prosecutor general after the country’s execution of the British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari, while Iran has summoned the UK ambassador.
Akbar was executed on Saturday after Iranian authorities claimed he was an MI6 spy, charges his family and the Foreign Office deny.
Britain had already summoned the most senior Iranian diplomat in the UK to the Foreign Office to demand an explanation. And in what may prove a turning point in British-Iranian relations, the UK’s response is likely to go further by eventually including the proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a move that is also being considered by the EU.
The Foreign Office has known about Akbari’s detention for a long time, but had chosen, in line with the wishes of the family, to put private pressure on the regime to secure his release. He was arrested in 2019 after he returned to Tehran from London to advise the regime on the future of the Iran nuclear deal. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Saturday, January 14, 2023
Iran executes British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari accused of spying: UK prime minister Rishi Sunak says execution was a ‘callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime’ »
