Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Ex-Iranian deputy defense minister, British spy, sentenced to death

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 11 Jan 2023 22:13
4 Min Read

Iran finds a former deputy foreign minister to have been serving as a British spy and betrayed his country by giving London intelligence about Iran.

  • x
  • Former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Alireza Akbari (Social media)
    Former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Alireza Akbari (Social media)

Center for Strategic Studies founder and former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Alireza Akbari was sentenced on Wednesday to death for spying for the United Kingdom, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence said in a statement.

"One of the most important agents of the British intelligence service has been identified in the secret and strategic centers of Iran," Tehran said, as quoted by the Tasnim agency.

Akbari was the deputy defense minister during the tenure of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who served from 1997 to 2005.

"He was arrested after a long and multi-stage counterintelligence operation. Alireza Akbari became this spy for the British services," the intelligence ministry added.

Iranian intelligence services found that Akbari had access to some of the state's classified data, and he would habitually send them to the British intelligence services.

Tehran clarified that the former senior official was first recruited upon his reception of a visa at the UK embassy in Tehran, when he had talks with British intelligence agents. After this "conversation", during personal trips to Europe, Akbari became a "full member of the UK intelligence service," the Islamic Republic said.

"After the initiation of a criminal case against the accused and the issuance of an indictment, the case was taken to court and the hearing was held in the presence of the lawyer of the accused," the ministry underlined.

"Based on the evidence in the case, this person was sentenced to death for committing espionage in favor of the UK," the statement concluded.

Related News

Syria's al-Sharaa: Security deal with 'Israel' is a necessity

US Federal Reserve lowers interest rates for first time in 2025

In late October, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a statement taking a jab at the role of foreign spy agencies, especially the CIA, in puppeteering the riots in Iran that took place in September.

"Numerous examples and undeniable references of the all-out role of the American terrorist regime in designing, implementing, and maintaining” the riots were exposed as part of “continuous and precise” intelligence monitoring in the past year, supported by documents, the statement read.

The statement pointed fingers at the CIA as it "played the main role” while being buddy-buddy with the espionage services of the UK, "Israel" and Saudi Arabia.

"The main perpetrators were the CIA, the British and Saudi intelligence services, the Israeli Mossad, and the intelligence services of other countries," it read. "the planning and the execution of the majority of the riots were carried out by the Mossad in collaboration with terrorist organizations."

"Washington used in the past few years a malicious network of collaborating organizations and invested in various social sectors to create networks to breach [Iran]," the statement underlined.

Meanwhile, the IRGC intelligence unit announced on Christmas the dismantling of a team of rioters in the Kerman Province who were linked with the United Kingdom.

In a statement, the public relations of Tharallah IRGC Base in Kerman province in southeast Iran confirmed that a group of rioters who were linked with the UK's intelligence services was identified and arrested.

"An organized network called Zagros which was directed by elements from the UK and formed a team of active anti-revolutionary elements inside and outside the country to lead plots to topple the government, especially during the recent riots, was identified and dealt a heavy blow in an operation," the IRGC statement read.

According to the IRGC, seven key elements of the team were arrested by the intelligence forces, and their technical and communicative means with the UK's intelligence services were cut.

The statement added that among the detained were double nationals who were trying to escape outside the country.

  • United States
  • Tehran
  • Israel
  • Mossad
  • IRGC
  • United Kingdom
  • Iran

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
UKLFI’s latest faux pas, like "Israel’s" recent failed attempt at regime change in Iran, is unambiguously indicative of a flailing entity on the verge of extinction. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Zionist lawfare operation facing collapse?

  • Opinion
  • 13 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS