Majid Jamali Fashi was
convicted of the January 2010 killing of Massoud Ali Mohammadi, an
Iranian university professor and a nuclear scientist. Prosecutors also
accused Fashi of working for Israel's spy agency Mossad and said he was
paid $120,000 by Israel to carry out the hit.
Israel does not comment on such claims.
The killing was among a series of attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists in recent years.
In January, Iran sent a
letter to the United Nations secretary general alleging that the
killings of the scientists were terrorist attacks that followed a clear
pattern.
"There is firm evidence
that certain foreign quarters are behind such assassinations," the
letter said, "It is highly expected from the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, and President of the Security Council of the United
Nations, as well as all other relevant organs and bodies, to condemn, in
the strongest terms, these inhumane terrorist acts."
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan,
another nuclear scientist, was killed in a blast in Tehran in January of
this year after a motorcyclist placed a magnetic bomb under his Peugeot
405 automobile. Mohammadi and one other scientist were killed in a
similar fashion in the last two years.
With no one claiming responsibility, the killings remain shrouded in mystery.
In January, Mohammad Khazaee, Iran's U.N. ambassador, blamed Israel for the attacks.
"They are trying to
assassinate the Iranian scientists to deprive Iranians from the right of
using peaceful nuclear energy," Khazaee said. "We believe that these
terrorist attacks are supported by some elements -- especially within
the Israeli regime, as well as some quarters around the world."
Some in Iran have pointed to the United States, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has rejected the claims.
"I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran," she said in January.
