US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States was deeply shocked by Iran’s death sentence for Alireza Akbari, vowing that Tehran’s violence in its attempt to suppress the protests will not go away. without punishing them.
“We are very shocked by the death sentence given to Mr. Akbari as everything we have seen on the streets of Iran in recent months after the beginning of this protest has surprised us: the arrest of the people, and the law.” to deceive, to kill, and to use sexual violence as a tool to suppress protesters,” said Blinken at a press conference.
He added, “These abuses will not go without consequences. Together with other countries, we continue to implement various joint actions, and multilateral measures, through the use of UN procedures, to try to put Iran on the case.”
Akbari, 61, a British-Iranian national who once held the position of Tehran’s deputy defense minister, was sentenced to death on charges of spying for Britain.
London said the charges against him are politically motivated. There have been calls for his release. After the execution, it imposed sanctions on Iran’s attorney general
The death penalty has been condemned by God and seems to worsen Iran’s relationship with the West, which has been deteriorating for a long time, since the negotiations to revive the nuclear deal it reached in 2015, and after Tehran launched a crackdown on protest last year.
At the press conference, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said that the UK will not limit itself to the response it has already announced, although he refused to elaborate on what he will do next.
Report by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Edited by Bradley Perrett
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