Ahmadreza Jalali Strongly Denies Any Espionage Allegations

Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian doctor sentenced to death on charges of espionage for Mossad, stated in a released audio file that his televised confessions were edited and distorted, asserting that he never spied for Mossad. In the televised confessions broadcasted from Jalali, prepared by the anti-espionage section of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, it was claimed that he received a job offer in one of the European countries from an individual introduced as Thomas, who sought to recruit him for the foreign intelligence service of that country in exchange for obtaining citizenship of a European country. He also mentions in the film titled 'Axe on the Roots' his past collaboration with projects in Iran's Ministry of Defense, suggesting that this might be the reason the alleged individual sought to recruit him. However, in the audio file attributed to him, Ahmadreza Jalali claims that his confessions were made under duress and that he had no access to a lawyer or investigator. He states that his response to those who introduced themselves as 'foreign agents' was omitted from the broadcast. He asserts that he completely rejected the request for information from these agents but that this part was deleted from the film. Ahmadreza Jalali adds that he managed the request from 'foreign agents' in Europe with 'wisdom and sacrifice' to prevent harm to his country. He emphasizes that at no point in the film or during his 20 months of detention did he 'ever express or confirm cooperation, espionage, or even contact with Mossad.' According to him, those who contacted him under the cover of a European company later introduced themselves as members of 'a European security organization.' Ahmadreza Jalali claims that he also rejected providing information to these individuals 'with evidence and documentation' during his 20 months of detention. In another part of the file, Jalali states that he had no information to provide 'even hypothetically' to those agents. Ahmadreza Jalali clarifies: 'I have stated in interrogations, the prosecutor's office, and the court that the only reason for my presence in the meeting with the seemingly European agents was their threats against my family and myself, threatening that you and your wife would be arrested and killed, and your 7-year-old daughter would be displaced to camps.' He argues that if he were collaborating with foreign agents, why would they threaten him and his family? He adds: 'Moreover, they once acted on their threats and physically attacked me, nearly killing me; they stole my laptop and transferred it to France to possibly obtain information, but they failed and found no information on my laptop.' Ahmadreza Jalali then states: 'At that time, I informed the Iranian security forces about the matter, but they took no action.' This Iranian doctor says that between 2001 and 2003, he was acquainted with Majid Shahriari and Masoud Ali Mohammadi in a project for the Ministry of Defense. Masoud Ali Mohammadi and Majid Shahriari, two Iranian nuclear scientists, were assassinated in Tehran in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Iran attributed these assassinations to Israel. He claims that while Masoud Ali Mohammadi was assassinated four or five months before his meeting with foreign agents, how could he have provided any information to them? He also emphasizes that he explained with documents to Judge Salavati regarding Majid Shahriari, but apparently, he was meant to be convicted, and his defenses had no impact. Ahmadreza Jalali asserts: 'My only meeting and acquaintance with these two martyrs was in 2002, at least eight years before their martyrdom, lasting 3 to 4 minutes, regarding educational and medical topics.' He also denies receiving any money from foreign agents and states that given his job position, he had no need for such amounts. Jalali emphasizes that in the film obtained under pressure, it is stated that he received 28,000 euros over a five-year period, which is 'shameful' and 'incredible' for any viewer that a professor would receive such an amount for espionage. According to this Iranian doctor, he had only eight meetings with foreign agents over a five-year period, not 'fifty' times as stated in the film 'Axe on the Roots.' He insists that he has been residing abroad since 2008 and has not been in direct contact with the Ministry of Defense on any project since 2003. Jalali states that the only reason for his trip to Iran was medical projects related to 'accidents,' 'natural disasters,' and including 'nuclear' incidents. In response to the claims made in the Iranian television broadcast, Jalali states that his application for Swedish citizenship was entirely legal and that the documents are recorded. The film 'Axe on the Roots' claims that one of the promises made by Mossad agents was obtaining citizenship of a European country for Jalali. Ahmadreza Jalali concludes by requesting that Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, have impartial judges review his case to uncover the truth. Ahmadreza Jalali, who holds Swedish residency and has collaborated as a researcher with the University of Piemonte in Italy, was arrested in May 2016 while visiting Iran at the invitation of the University of Tehran, but news of his arrest did not leak until December of that year. Ahmadreza Jalali's wife stated about a week ago to Radio Farda that the Iranian Supreme Court has confirmed her husband's death sentence, but this sentence has not yet been communicated to them. The issuance of this sentence has also faced severe reactions from Amnesty International, which stated that Iranian courts 'have undermined the rule of law' by confirming the death sentence for Mr. Jalali.