Iran executes nuclear scientist spy

Iran has executed a nuclear scientist who gave the US intelligence about the country's contested nuclear program.

Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, confirmed the execution of Shahram Amiri.

He told the official Iranian news agency IRNA that Mr Amiri "provided the enemy with vital information of the country".

US officials in 2010 said they paid Mr Amiri five million dollars (£382m) to defect and provide "significant" information about Iran's atomic program. But Mr Amiri later fled the US without the money.

Iranian officials previously touted Mr Amiri's claim he had been abducted by US agents while on a pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia. They welcomed him home in 2010 as a hero.

Foreign media reports quoted Mr Amiri's mother saying he had been hanged this week and a memorial service for him was held in Kermanshah, 310 miles south-west of Tehran.