TEHRAN - Iran’s top court has upheld a death sentence against a person who was spying on Iran’s civilian nuclear sites for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Iranian Judiciary announced on Tuesday.

“The Supreme Court has recently confirmed a death sentence handed down to Amir Rahimpour, who was a highly-paid CIA agent, seeking to pass some information on Iran’s nuclear program to the U.S. intelligence service. He will soon be held to account,” Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaeili told a regular news briefing, Press TV reported.

Esmaeili added that two other spies, who were collecting information for the U.S. under the guise of a charity organization, have also been given ten year sentences each over espionage.

The pair also received a five-year jail term each for acts against national security.

Last year in April, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi revealed that his ministry succeeded to identify 290 CIA spies in Iran and other countries.

“Our actions in identifying elements of this agency have caused disruptions in the CIA in a way that the U.S. formed committees and director of the CIA confirmed being harmed by Iran,” he said during a speech to worshippers in Tehran at the time. 

He said that Yahoo News conducted interviews with 11 U.S. spy experts who admitted that identifying CIA spies by Iran had been a “disastrous defeat” for the U.S.

In an article published by Yahoo News in November 2018, it is claimed that Iranian intelligence had gained access to a secret internet-based communications system of the U.S.

“When these types of compromises happen, it’s so dark and bad,” said a former official, speaking to Yahoo.

Alavi added that tens of spies employed by foreign intelligence services were identified in Iran’s sensitive centers. 

Alvai said, “Tens of spies who were employed by foreign intelligence services were identified in the country’s sensitive centers and were arrested. Report on identifying these spies made all the ones who were informed about the Intelligence Ministry’s performance surprised and also made the foreign services which employed the spies confused.”

MJ/PA