Iran sentences Israel spy to death 
 
Tehran, 2008 July 1, Alalam

Iran has sentenced to death an Iranian telecoms salesman found guilty of spying for the Israeli regime, official media reported on Monday.

Ali Ashtari, 45, was charged with involvement in a plot run by the regime` spying services to intercept the communications of Iranian officials working in the military and its nuclear program, IRNA reported.

Ashtari was sentenced to death by the revolutionary court. He still has time to appeal the verdict with a higher court.

An anonymous intelligence official was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying: "This is an initial verdict and should receive final approval. The defendant can appeal."

"He fell into the trap of the foreign intelligence services. They took advantage of his situation. They asked him to cooperate and he cooperated," the Mehr news agency quoted an intelligence source as saying.

The verdict comes as US media reported that Israeli warplanes staged a training exercise with Greece earlier this month to prepare for a possible long-distance strike.