Agency has infiltrated autonomous Kurdish region, hired Iranian Kurds to spy on Iranian nuclear program, 'Le Figaro' reports.
By JPOST.COM STAFFKurds pose behind Kurdish flag_311(photo credit: Mike Finn-Kelcey/Reuters)The Mossad has managed to infiltrate the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq in order to spy on Iran's nuclear program, French daily Le Figaro reported Tuesday.According to an unnamed security source in Baghdad, Israel has hired Iranian Kurdish refugees in the autonomous region to gather information about Iran's nuclear program, and to target nuclear experts in the Islamic Republic.RELATED:US to Iran: Release death-sentenced American 'Car bomb kills nuclear scientist near Tehran university'Iran's judiciary said on Monday a death sentence had been passed for an Iranian-US citizen on charges of spying for the United States, the students news agency ISNA reported."A death sentence has been issued for Amir Mirza Hekmati for cooperating with the hostile government of America and spying for the CIA," ISNA quoted spokesman for the judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei as saying. "The court found him (Hekmati) Corrupt on Earth and Mohareb (waging war on God)," semi-official FARS news agency said.
Hekmati, a 28-year-old of Iranian descent, was arrested in December and Iran's Intelligence Ministry accused him of receiving training at US bases in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq.Iran's judiciary said Hekmati admitted to having links with the CIA but said he had no intention of harming Iran. The US responded that same night to the death sentence, demanding Iran release Hekmati immediately."We've maintained from the beginning that the charges against him were a fabrication and we call on the Iranian government to release him immediately," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
Iran has blamed the US and Israel for infiltrating the Islamic Republic, and targeting its nuclear scientists - five of which have been killed since 2007. One scientist died Wednesday when a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near Tehran University.Both the US and Israel have denied the espionage charges.
