Tuesday, 11 August 2020 _Iran's Judiciary has confirmed that five Iranian nationals were recently detained on charges of spying for Israel, Britain and Germany, adding two of them have already been convicted.
Addressing a news briefing on Tuesday, Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said “five Iranians who were spying for foreign intelligence services are now in detention.”
They were “spying for Israel, Britain and Germany” he explained.
According to the spokesman, they were working at the foreign ministry, the energy sector as well as the defense ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
“Two of them have already been convicted and handed jail terms” in recent days, Esmaili said, identifying them as Masoud Mosaheb and Shahram Shirkhani
Mosaheb, who was secretary-general of the Iran-Austria friendship association, has received a 10-year jail term after being convicted of espionage for Israel's Mossad spy agency as well as the German intelligence service, Esmaili noted.
Meanwhile, Shirkhani has been handed a prison sentence for spying for British intelligence services. He had provided the UK with classified information about Iran's Central Bank, Bank Melli Iran and Defense Ministry contracts.
He had also attempted to recruit some Iranian officials for Britain's MI6 agency.
Last month, the Judiciary announced that Mahmoud Mousavi Majd convicted of espionage for US and Israeli intelligence services had been executed.