Iran has executed Ali Ashtari, the 43-year-old computer and high-tech equipment buyer who was accused of spying for Israel. The Tehran regime wanted "to show that a new battle with the enemy’s intelligence services has begun," said the head of Iran's counter-espionage department. Israel has denied any connection with Ashtari.

Iran charged that he bought equipment overseas for the Iranian nuclear reactor that allegedly went through the hands of Israeli experts who inserted equipment allowing monitoring of the computer systems and viruses that could shut them down.