A former U.S. soldier, who also holds Iranian citizenship, has been sentenced to death by an Iranian court for spying for the CIA, the Fars news agency reported on Monday.
“Amir Mirza Hekmati was sentenced to death for cooperating with the hostile nation and spying for the CIA,” the verdict said.
Hekmati, the 28-year-old former U.S. Marine of Iranian descent, was shown on Iranian state television last month allegedly confessing to a mission to infiltrate Iran’s intelligence services.
He had been in custody for several months.
The United States had asked Iran to free Hekmati “without delay.”
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry accused him of receiving sophisticated training at U.S. bases in Afghanistan and Iraq before being sent to Iran.
Hekmati’s family, who live in Arizona, deny their son is a spy, saying he was in Iran visiting his grandmothers.
