UK Says Tehran Must Give Answers On Executed British-Iranian National

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called on the Iranian government to provide answers about the death and burial of a British-Iranian dual national who was executed by the Islamic Republic earlier this month.

Alireza Akbari, a former Iranian deputy defense minister and a United Kingdom citizen, was executed on January 14 on charges of “espionage” for the UK and “corruption on earth.”

"The regime is prolonging the suffering of the family and it is sadly typical of that disregard for basic human dignity," Sunak told parliament on January 25.

"Iran must now provide answers about the circumstances of his death and his burial."

Labour's Andy Slaughter had addressed the execution of Akbari, his constituent, saying the UK made little effort to protect him or to protest his death, beyond "trifling steps."

What sanction will the government impose on the Islamic Republic, and why won't it follow the United States in proscribing the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization? Slaughter asked.

Sunak replied that his government has raised the execution with Iran's chargé d'affaires in London and the Foreign Ministry in Tehran, and that sanctions have been imposed on several officials connected with the case.

The UK has sanctioned Iranian Prosecutor-General Mohammad Montazeri and his deputy, Ahmad Fazelian, saying in a statement that they are “responsible for a judicial system characterised by unfair trials and egregious punishments, including use of the death penalty for political purposes.”

“Last week Alireza Akbari tragically became a victim of this brutal system,” the statement added.