United Arab Emirates: Despite international protests over his death sentence and others detained during widespread demonstrations, Iran announced on Saturday that it had executed a dual Iranian-British national who had previously been in charge of its defense ministry. had worked for

The Mizan news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary announced the execution of Ali Raza Akbari. It was not specified when this happened. However, there were rumors that he had recently been put to death.

Without providing any supporting evidence, Iran claimed that Akbari had worked as a spy for MI-6, the British intelligence service. A heavily edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations has been referred to by activists as a forced confession. State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel criticized Akbari's impending execution on Friday.

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Ali Raza Akbari was accused of the crimes and was given the death penalty for them. He said that it would be wrong to hang him. We are deeply concerned by reports that Mr. Akbari was drugged, tortured in custody, and interrogated for countless hours before being forced to make a false confession.

"More broadly, Iran's practice of forced confessions, political executions, and arbitrary and unjust detention is totally unacceptable and must stop," he continued. Inquiries for comment were not immediately answered by the British Foreign Office.

Since the death of a woman detained by morality police in September, the Iranian government has been trying to claim - without providing evidence - that foreign nations have fueled the unrest plaguing the Islamic republic.

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According to the protesters, the collapse of the economy, the militarized police force and the country's powerful Islamic clerics are the reasons for their anger. Iran is one of the world's top executioners.

Iran has been engaged in a covert conflict with the US and Israel for many years, characterized by stealth attacks on Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Foreign intelligence services made significant inroads, as evidenced by the 2020 assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist, for which Iran claimed Israel was responsible.

Akbari, who heads a private think tank, has not been seen on the street since 2019, when he was apparently detained. Analysts speculate that his death sentence was linked to a possible power struggle within the Iranian security apparatus during the protests because he was close to Ali Shamkhani, a top security official in that nation.

Working closely with UN observers, Akbari previously oversaw the implementation of a ceasefire between Iran and Iraq following the devastating eight-year war.

The specifics of his test have not been made public by officials. Those accused of espionage and other crimes related to national security are usually tried in secret, where, according to rights organizations, they are not allowed to choose their own lawyers and cannot see the evidence against them.

The Islamic republic is facing one of its biggest challenges since the revolution that established it in 1979 as a result of anti-government protests that lasted nearly four months and show no signs of abating.

At least 520 protesters have died and more than 19,300 have been detained, according to human rights activists in Iran, a group tracking the unrest. Official figures for arrests or deaths have not been released by the Iranian authorities.

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Iran has executed four people who were found guilty in a trial criticized for similar charges related to the protests, including attacks on security personnel.