Iran Sentences Man To Death For Espionage

A special Iranian court sentenced an Iranian man to death Monday on charges of spying for Israel, state television said. It was the country's first known conviction for espionage linked to Israel in almost a decade.

Ali Ashtari, a 45-year-old salesman of electronic merchandise, had a job supplying military, security and defense centers across the country with electronic devices, according to the web site of Iranian state TV.

The web site quoted an unnamed intelligence official as saying Ashtari "relayed sensitive information on military, defense and research centers" to Israeli intelligence officers. Iranian state media, considered mouthpieces for the government, customarily cite officials without identifying them by name.

The material that Ashtari allegedly passed to Israeli intelligence officials also included information on Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, state TV said.

An Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev, said officials in Israel had no knowledge of the case.

Ashtari, who was arrested in 2007, tried to "create a link" between Iranian experts and Israeli agents, the unnamed Iranian official said, according to state media.

Under Iranian law, Ashtari has 20 days to appeal the verdict, which was handed down Sunday.

Iran and Israel have long been enemies. But the ruling against Ashtari is the first time since 2000 that an Iranian court has convicted and sentenced an Iranian citizen on charges of espionage for Israel.

It was handed down by Iran's Revolutionary Court, which handles security issues.

A closed-door trial in 2000 convicted 10 Iranian Jews of spying for Israel and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from four to 13 years. All were released before serving out their full sentences.

Ashtari's conviction comes amid renewed moves by the international community to step up diplomatic pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities.

Israel, the United States and many Western countries contend that Iran's nuclear program is intended to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies that, saying its program is for peaceful purposes, including electricity production.

Israel has said it favors a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff, but it has not ruled out a military strike of its own against Iran.

In 1981, an Israeli air attack destroyed an unfinished nuclear reactor in Iraq. Israel also hit a suspected nuclear facility in Syria in September.

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, warned in a newspaper interview last week that if attacked, Iran would strike back - barraging Israel with missiles and choking off a key oil transit point in the Persian Gulf.