Iran denies adultery case woman about to be executed

Iran today insisted no final decision had been made on the fate of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

Iran’s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki made the announcement after fears rose in the West that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s execution was imminent.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Mr Mottaki assured him today that a final verdict in Ms Ashtiani’s case has not been made yet and that reports “about her eventual execution don’t correspond to reality.”

Iran has temporarily suspended the stoning verdict and suggested Ms Ashtiani might be hanged instead.

Mr Kouchner said France was “very worried” about the case.