Iran official claims California resident imprisoned in Iran died before he could be executed

Iranian German national and U.S. resident Jamshid Sharmahd, shown at his 2022 trial in Tehran, has died. An Iranian official said Tuesday that Iranian German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd died before Tehran could execute him — directly contradicting the country’s earlier announcement he had been put to death. Jason Poblete, a lawyer representing Sharmahd’s family, told the Associated Press that the conflicting comments from Iran were “deeply concerning.” “This inconsistency raises serious questions about the circumstances of the death and the transparency of the Iranian system,” Poblete said. Iran also accused Sharmahd of “disclosing classified information” on missile sites of Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a TV program in 2017. Amnesty International said the proceedings against Sharmahd had been a “grossly unfair trial” because he had been denied access to an independent lawyer and “the right to defend himself.” However, Amnesty also noted that Sharmahd ran a website for the Kingdom Assembly of Iran and Tondar that included claims of “responsibility for explosions inside Iran,” though he repeatedly denied being involved in the attacks.