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Iran releases taped 'confessions' by dual British citizen sentenced to death

Iran's state media outlets have released a video of Alireza Akbari allegedly confessing to his crimes a day after his death sentence was upheld by the country's Supreme Court.   

ANDERS WIKLUND/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
Demonstrators hold posters with a portrait of Swedish-Iranian doctor and researcher Ahmadreza Djalali (Ahmad Reza Jalali), who is imprisoned and sentenced to death in Iran, during a protest on May 14, 2022, in Stockholm, Sweden. — ANDERS WIKLUND/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian state media published a video on Thursday claiming that British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, who is facing execution for alleged spying, played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist.

The 10-minute video posted on government-linked outlets showed Akbari speaking in different interview settings. In it, he recounts how he was initially approached years ago by an unnamed UK ambassador in Tehran as well as MI6 agents. He is then seen explaining vaguely how he was requested to pass on information concerning top Iranian officials involved in the country's controversial nuclear and missile programs. The video alleged Akbari was involved in the murder of prominent Iranian military scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, assassinated in an attack right outside Tehran in 2020. 

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