Post by CMF Newsman on Jan 9, 2012 7:06:08 GMT -5
Iran announced on Monday it had sentenced a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen to death for spying for the CIA, creating fresh grounds for hostility with Washington at a time when Tehran has responded to new U.S. sanctions with military threats.
The United States denies that Arizona-born Amir Mirza Hekmati is a spy, and has demanded his immediate release. Washington says Hekmati has been denied access to Swiss diplomats, who represent U.S. interests in a country where it has had no mission since its embassy was stormed in 1979.
Iran has accused Hekmati of training with the U.S. military as a spy. It aired a televised confession, denounced by Washington, in which he said he worked for a New York-based video game company designing games to manipulate public opinion in the Middle East on behalf of U.S. intelligence.
"Amir Mirza Hekmati was sentenced to death ... for cooperating with the hostile country America and spying for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)," ISNA news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei as saying.
Read more: www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/us-iran-usa-spy-idUSTRE8080BH20120109
The United States denies that Arizona-born Amir Mirza Hekmati is a spy, and has demanded his immediate release. Washington says Hekmati has been denied access to Swiss diplomats, who represent U.S. interests in a country where it has had no mission since its embassy was stormed in 1979.
Iran has accused Hekmati of training with the U.S. military as a spy. It aired a televised confession, denounced by Washington, in which he said he worked for a New York-based video game company designing games to manipulate public opinion in the Middle East on behalf of U.S. intelligence.
"Amir Mirza Hekmati was sentenced to death ... for cooperating with the hostile country America and spying for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)," ISNA news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei as saying.
Read more: www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/us-iran-usa-spy-idUSTRE8080BH20120109
