TEHRAN – Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence issued Friday an explanatory statement about Alireza Akbari’s case, saying his execution has destroyed the prestige of the British intelligence. 

The statement described the execution of Akbari as a blow to the prestige and credibility of the UK intelligence community which boast of having the “oldest” spy agency. 

“The prestige of the British spy agency and the safety of its spies have been destroyed. And the agency’s intelligence officers are facing the challenge of how to restore their credibility among their agents henceforth,” the statement said.

The intelligence ministry said Akbari’s case was so unprecedented that some intelligence services have reached out to the ministry to learn about the experience associated with this case.

The ministry also announced that from now on “dirty tools” such as making recruitments through giving visas and residence permits as well as granting citizenship to spies with the aim of rescuing them will come to naught.