Iran executed one of its nuclear scientists on Wednesday over allegations that he was a spy for Israel and had facilitated Israel’s assassination of another nuclear scientist during the two countries’ war in June, according to the judiciary’s news outlet, Mizan.

The judiciary said the scientist, Roozbeh Vadi, had worked at one of the country’s most sensitive and important nuclear sites and had access to the type of classified information sought by Iran’s enemies. Vadi was executed by hanging after he was found guilty of espionage and providing information to Israel, the judiciary said.

The execution follows a 12-day war with Israel and the United States in June, when Israel assassinated at least 30 Iranian senior military commanders and 11 nuclear scientists.

Iranian officials have acknowledged publicly that Israel’s widespread infiltration of its security and intelligence apparatuses enabled Israel to eliminate key parts of Iran’s military chain of command in the war’s first night and helped it launch drone attacks from inside Iran. Following the war, officials have blamed Israel for a series of explosions and fires around the country.

While the two countries have been locked in a shadow war, the apparent accuracy of Israel’s information inside Iran have rattled officials.

But the execution of a nuclear scientist is extremely rare in a nation that takes great pride in its domestic nuclear programme, with scientists hailed as national heroes.

New York Times News Service