(Bloomberg) — Iran upheld the death sentence given to an Iranian national found guilty of working for U.S. intelligence.

Amir Rahimpour “was a CIA spy who was paid handsomely and tried to pass part of Iran’s nuclear information to the American service,” judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Esmaeili said on state television on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court maintained the conviction and sentencing of Rahimpour, who will be executed in the near future, he said.

Iran said in July it had sentenced to death several citizens accused of spying on Iran’s military and nuclear program as part of a CIA-trained network. U.S. officials dismissed the claims.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have since spiraled further, culminating in President Donald Trump’s order to kill a top Iranian general, and Tehran’s retaliatory missile strikes on bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops.

To contact the reporter on this story: Arsalan Shahla in Tehran at ashahla@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Paul Abelsky

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