Iran Gives Death Sentence to Former Defense Official, a Dual U.K. Citizen

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

56% : In an audio message obtained by BBC Persian, Mr. Akbari said he had visited Iran in 2018 and 2019, met with the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, and given him a shirt and a bottle of perfume as gifts.
49% : Mr. Akbari's case was made public for the first time on Tuesday when his wife, Maryam Samadi, told BBC Persian that the family had remained quiet in hopes of resolving the case through their official contacts in Iran, but that her husband's fate had suddenly changed in the past 48 hours.
43% : The Belgian foreign ministry issued a statement calling the detention arbitrary and said Iran had provided no information on the case and its ambassador would be summoned.
41% : The news of a dual national at risk of execution comes at a time of heighten tensions for Iran's government both at home and abroad.
38% : Alireza Akbari, who had served the Islamic Republic in senior roles until his departure to Britain, was arrested in 2019 in Iran on allegations of being a "super spy" for MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service, and passing it classified national security information, according to a statement released Wednesday by Iran's intelligence ministry.
38% : Britain on Wednesday demanded that Iran halt the execution of Mr. Akbari and immediately release him, and requested consulate access to him in Tehran.
37% :"High-level arrests in Iran, especially those involving foreign governments, often have more than one motive," said Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iran expert who teaches international relations at Columbia University and a former dual national prisoner in Iran.
36% : Iran has been roiled for months by a popular protest movement demanding an end to the theocratic regime, which in recent weeks has executed four demonstrators in a widening crackdown aimed at crushing dissent.

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