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Ali Ashtari, the Iranian businessman convicted of spying for Israel. (Reuters)
Last update - 10:08 22/11/2008
Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israel
By News Agencies
Tags: Israel News, Ali Ashtari 

Iran has executed an Iranian businessman convicted of spying on the Islamic Republic's military on behalf of Israel, the judiciary said on Saturday.

In a statement, it said Ali Ashtari was hanged on Monday this week after he confessed to the spying charges.

Judicial spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi says Ashtari was hanged on Nov. 17 after being sentenced to death on June 30 by a revolutionary court in Tehran.
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Ashtari, who was in his mid-40s, was a tradesman in electronic merchandise who supplied military, security and defense centers across the country with electronic devices.

"Ali Ashtari, an Iranian who spied for the Zionist regime of Israel, was hanged on Monday morning," the statement said, adding that he had been detained at the end of 2006.

An Israeli government official said in June that Israel had no knowledge of the case. Israel's Foreign Ministry was not immediately available for comment on the case on Saturday.

"Ashtari, during the three years of cooperation with Mossad had carried out a wide-range of activities in favor of Mossad and on some occasions he succeeded in creating good conditions for Israelis," the judiciary statement said, without elaborating.

The statement said he had been given "special equipment" to contact Mossad, adding that he picked it up when he visited foreign companies at exhibitions abroad.

"This spy also confessed that Mossad agents gave him names of some managers and experts from sensitive military centres so he could convince them to travel abroad and meet Israelis ... ," the statement said.

Television footage broadcast in June showed Ashtari in court apparently confessing to his activities. Iran has often broadcast confessions in the past from those accused of threatening state security.

Iran's Mehr News Agency said Ashtari's body had been handed over to his family and was buried.

Iran's official news agency IRNA also reported on Saturday a group of four "terrorists" with "Zionist equipment and methods" were arrested in west Iran and said they were planning to carry out assassinations. It did not say when they were detained.

Iran often accuses Israel and other foreign foes, such as the United States, of trying to destabilise the Islamic Republic.

Ashtari told Iranian authorities he had accepted a loan of 50,000 Euros from Israeli agents as he had been in financial straits, Fars reported.

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      1.   Iran and Syria seem to do things in the same style... 09:23  |  Esther 22/11/08
      2.   The Mullahs of Iran Kill Again... 09:27  |  Michael J 22/11/08
      3.   Peaceful Religion??? 10:00  |  Khaled 22/11/08
      4.   What is the more brutal punishment.....???? 11:58  |  Swiss (Dino) 22/11/08
      5.   Israel doesn`t have the death penalty 12:43  |  Natallie Durson 22/11/08
      6.   Israel copied that from USA movies, Terminator etc 13:11  |  Israeli citizen 22/11/08
      7.   Khaled 13:48  |  noor 22/11/08
      8.   Minoe coercion used to extract the confession 14:16  |  Ari ben Yisrael 22/11/08
      9.   Barbaric Iranian regime, Durson`s and Dinomartin`s cynicism 14:22  |  Daniel 22/11/08
      10.   #4 Swiss Dino Saur 14:26  |  H 22/11/08
      11.   Tortured and Executed 14:26  |  Brod 22/11/08
      12.   response to swiss dino 14:28  |  danalogue 22/11/08
      13.   No problem for Israel, it will find another agent 14:28  |  Conroy 22/11/08
      14.   LOL, previous responses are just laughable 14:35  |  Iranian 22/11/08
      15.   # 8 H 15:22  |  Swiss (Dino) 22/11/08
      16.   # 10 danalogue, I agree with you...... 15:24  |  Swiss (Dino) 22/11/08
      17.   #4 Swiss Dino 15:50  |  LevZahav 22/11/08
      18.   #1 Esther 15:56  |  LevZahav 22/11/08
      19.   Reason to be cheerful 16:14  |  k 22/11/08
      20.   Which proves Iranian Muslims ... 16:22  |  Edith 22/11/08
      21.   #Khaled, I grew up with Jesus ... 16:28  |  Edith 22/11/08
      22.   Pot calling the kettle black 16:34  |  Riva 22/11/08
      23.   #7 Swiss Daniel 16:35  |  Edith 22/11/08
      24.   If Mossad had a spy in Iran 16:38  |  Genuine Tosefta 22/11/08
      25.   confession 16:46  |  Shmuelshachor 22/11/08
      26.   If he was an Iranian jew........ 16:47  |  kia 22/11/08
      27.   Natallie Durson 16:49  |  Waldo 22/11/08
      28.   Swiss (Dingbat): Killing Jews Is A Good Thing 16:51  |  Tex 22/11/08
      29.   Great, Riva is OK/justifies innocents executions in Iran 16:54  |  Genuine Tosefta 22/11/08
      30.   Edith #17 17:00  |  Persian Kitty 22/11/08
      31.   Betrayal 17:15  |  Palestinian 22/11/08
      32.   Kangaroo Iranian Muslim court 17:16  |  Genuine Tosefta 22/11/08
      33.   You mean, there was some doubt? 17:19  |  hollingsworth 22/11/08
      34.   K "Reason to be cheerful"? 17:20  |  Persian Kitty 22/11/08
      35.   Ashtari - Iran`s Julius Rosenberg? 17:23  |  Galuteus Maximus 22/11/08
      36.   #17 18:01  |  kia 22/11/08
      37.   Natalie 18:09  |  Jeff 22/11/08
      38.   Swiss (Dino) The worst punishment 18:14  |  David Israel 22/11/08
      39.   Edith # 17 Why Not? 18:17  |  Jeff Northridge 22/11/08
      40.   Swiss Dino, Party apparatchik 19:13  |  CM 22/11/08
      41.   Where Was The Human Rights Group 19:23  |  Nazanine 22/11/08
      42.   Spy 19:37  |  Natalie Durson 22/11/08
      43.   Was he a spy or not ? 19:40  |  annie 22/11/08
      44.   edith 19:55  |  larry 22/11/08
      45.   SWISS DINO 19:55  |  Brant 22/11/08
      46.   edith 19:58  |  larry 22/11/08
      47.   DINO: depends where the prison is 20:02  |  Alicia 22/11/08
      48.   brod 9 20:10  |  potobac 22/11/08
      49.   Why Death Penalty 20:32  |  Ronald 22/11/08
      50.   no 26 Ronald 21:00  |  Paolo Silva 22/11/08
      51.   20# Edith 21:01  |  Daniel 22/11/08
      52.   Who started all trhis? 21:41  |  Jimmy Carter 22/11/08
      53.   Some remarks on this incident: 22:26  |  Andreas 22/11/08
      54.   help us! 22:29  |  persian 22/11/08
      55.   Many countries punish treason by death 22:42  |  Steve 22/11/08
      56.   Poor Paolo Silva 23:02  |  Ronald 22/11/08
      57.   Annie 23:39  |  Connie 22/11/08
      58.   Iran Buys Weapon Systems On The Black Market, Then Complains? 23:49  |  UsedToPostHere 22/11/08
      59.   You dimwits... what does this have to do with religion? 23:51  |  Johnson 22/11/08
      60.   re: annie 23:53  |  UsedToPostHere 22/11/08
      61.   Swiss Dino 00:14  |  MR 23/11/08
      62.   Johnson #31 00:19  |  MR 23/11/08
      63.   JOHNSON Iran is ruled by Mullahs.Their law is Sharia 00:41  |  PETER SM 23/11/08
      64.   No.39 `Johnson` 00:42  |  Samuel Smith 23/11/08
      65.   NATALIE Killing enemy who target Israeli civillians 00:51  |  PETER SM 23/11/08
      66.   Johnson: because the majority of xenophobes 01:15  |  KR 23/11/08
      67.   # 4, SWISS (DINO) 01:20  |  indrajaya 23/11/08
      68.   Ali Ashtari has been scapegoated for Iran`s paranoia. 01:44  |  Fortuna Benmayor 23/11/08
      69.   US is better? 02:00  |  schafe82 23/11/08
      70.   Islam the religion of hate and death, this man was innocent 02:06  |  e.m Jordan is Pales 23/11/08
      71.   Re:Natalie Durson,Spy 02:27  |  e.m Jordan is Pales 23/11/08
      72.   To # 43 Smithy 02:52  |  Michael J 23/11/08
      73.   @ 43... sweet lol nice response.. 03:30  |  Johnson 23/11/08
      74.   @ 47 03:38  |  John 23/11/08
      75.   @ 50.. Maybe Israel needs to be free from religious Zionists. 03:44  |  John 23/11/08
      76.   54John never heard of Pal Leader`s part in Holocost 04:21  |  Rob 23/11/08
      77.   SWISS Most brutal? Need to ask the victim not you 07:45  |  PETER SM 23/11/08
      78.   Vatican was in on it too... 15:09  |  J. 23/11/08
      79.   re: Johnson 19:10  |  UsedToPostHere 23/11/08
      80.   peter sm 65 03:10  |  potobac 24/11/08
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