Iran sentences American man to death in CIA case
By Bradley Klapper January 9, 2012 8:24AM
FILE -- A Dec. 27, 2011 file photo of a video frame grab image made from the Iranian broadcaster IRIB TV, shows U.S. citizen Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, accused by Iran of spying for the CIA, in Tehran's revolutionary court, in Iran. An Iranian court has convicted an American man of working for the CIA and sentenced him to death, state radio reported Monday Jan. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/IRIB/File) NO ACCESS IRAN; BBC PERSIAN TV OUT; VOA PERSIAN TV OUT
Article Extras
Updated: February 11, 2012 8:10AM
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration Monday rejected Iran’s charge that a young Iranian-American man used a family trip to Iran as cover for espionage, after the Tehran government issued the first death penalty against a U.S. citizen since the Islamic Revolution 33 years ago. The U.S. suggested the decision was a political ploy. In a case that surely will heighten tensions with Tehran, Iran charged Amir Mirzaei Hekmati with receiving special training and serving at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan before traveling to Iran on an intelligence mission. A court convicted him of belonging to the CIA and trying to inculpate Iran of involvement in terrorism, according to a state radio report Monday. The United States denied the accusations. The State Department called them a “complete fabrication,” and White House spokesman Tommy Vietor added that “allegations that Mr. Hekmati either worked for or was sent to Iran by the CIA are false.” “The Iranian regime has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons,” Vietor said in a statement. The case sheds light on the legal but risky travel of U.S. citizens to Iran, common among many first-generation and second-generation Iranian-Americans. Hekmati, 28, is a former military translator who was born in Arizona. His family is of Iranian origin. His father has said his son was visiting his grandmothers in Iran.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment