LONDON
\nBritain is reassessing its backing of the Iran nuclear deal after Tehran executed a British Iranian dual national, drawing strong condemnation from Western governments.
\nAlireza Akbari, 61, was hanged after being convicted of \u201ccorruption on earth and harming the country\u2019s internal and external security by passing on intelligence.\u201d When or where the execution took place is unknown.
\nThe execution has led to a huge escalation in tensions between the West and Iran, which were already running high over Tehran\u2019s crackdown on protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini and the regime\u2019s military support for Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
\nThe UK has been a key player in talks on reviving the nuclear deal, which placed significant restrictions on Iran\u2019s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
\nSenior government sources said that the \u201clandscape\u201d has changed significantly since the negotiation process began and as such Britain is now reviewing its options regarding future involvement in reviving the deal, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
\nThey said the relationship with Tehran has been under pressure in recent months because of the regime\u2019s harsh repression of anti-government protests.
\nUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he was \u201cappalled\u201d by the execution.
\n\u201cThis was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people,\u201d Sunak said.
\nForeign Secretary James Cleverly warned that the execution would not go unchallenged, before announcing sanctions on Iran\u2019s prosecutor general to underline Britain\u2019s \u201cdisgust.\u201d
\nBritain said it would summon Tehran\u2019s envoy and in response, Iran summoned the British ambassador to protest against what it described as \u201cunconventional interventions.\u201d
\nFrance\u2019s Foreign Ministry also condemned the execution \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d and said that the killing \u201ccannot go unanswered.\u201d President Emmanuel Macron denounced Akbari\u2019s execution as a \u201cheinous and barbaric act.\u201d
\nTehran has been accused of using the talks as cover to ramp up work on its nuclear program with a view to obtaining a bomb \u2014 a charge that it denies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Britain is reassessing its backing of the Iran nuclear deal after Tehran executed a British Iranian dual national, drawing strong condemnation from Western governments. Alireza Akbari, 61, was hanged after being convicted of \u201ccorruption on earth and harming the country\u2019s internal and external security by passing on intelligence.\u201d When or where the execution took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-307685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n