Iran hardliner calls for 'British spies' to be named, after 'barbaric' execution of Alireza Akbari

Iranian hardliners have called on the government to publically name alleged UK spies in the country, following the execution of British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of a newspaper closely linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), called for the leaking of suspected "British intelligence" agents' names, he alleges worked with Akbari, a former minister with UK nationality who was hanged on Saturday for alleged spying.

"Now it is our turn to take revenge, and it is expected that the Ministry of Information will provide some information related to the leads, commanders, and agents of the British and Mossad intelligence services who were involved in technical interrogations and publish the expert knowledge obtained," he wrote, according to The Guardian.

"There are also questions about how this spy infiltrated the sensitive and strategic centres of the system, which should not be simply ignored."

Iran has provided no proof to back its claims that Akbari spied for the UK, but it comes amid widespread anti-government protests in the country, which hardliners have blamed on the West.

Tehran has detained numerous dual nationals, which human rights groups say is an attempt to extract concessions from the West.

British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were both detained in Iran until their release in 2022 after the UK paid a historic debt owed to Tehran.

The execution of Akbari was widely condemned in the UK with plans to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

The military outfit has been accused of brutally suppressing pro-democracy protests in Iran and an anti-government uprising in Syria.

A revived nuclear deal between Western powers and Iran has hit a wall, while there are suggestions of a power struggle inside the Iranian regime between hardliners and moderates amid a major economic crisis.