Death sentence for Iranian who spied on nuclear project

The case of Ali Ashtari sheds some light on the covert war against Iran. If true, an Iranian court has found that the businessman supplied defective parts to Iran’s nuclear program and “internet cables and satellite phones” to special customers in the Islamic Republic.

^{Ali Ashtari}

Ashtari’s case also suggests that Iran’s program is hopelessly porous, with severe divisions amongst its political elite allowing foreign infiltration. How a businessman like Ashtari came to have access to the nuclear program is also a mystery.

Iran yesterday sentenced a businessman to death after a court convicted him of spying on the country’s military and nuclear programme for Israel.

Ali Ashtari, 45, was identified by Iranian media as the manager of a company selling communications and security equipment to the government.

Ashtari had been paid by the Mossad secret service and had caused “irreparable damage”, it was reported. Israel denied any knowledge of the case, which is standard procedure in espionage.

The news comes at a time of escalating tensions between the two countries, with Israel, an undeclared nuclear power, making clear it will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, while Tehran insists on its right to generate nuclear energy.

Posted by Szamko
Just tries to tell the truth.