Shahram Amiri "was hanged for spying for the U.S.," Tasnim news agency reported, citing judicial spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei. Amiri had access to secret information and "established contact with Iran's number 1 enemy, meaning the U.S., and relayed essential intelligence," Mohseni-Ejei said.

The U.S. transferred Amiri to its territory via Saudi Arabia, Mohseni-Ejei said without providing details, saying Iran had been aware of his contacts with U.S. intelligence services. Following his return to Iran, Amiri was tried and sentenced to death, the official said, refuting statements he had been sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Amiri returned to Iran in July 2010, claiming he had been abducted in Saudi Arabia and held against his will in the U.S for 14 months. Contradictory reports in foreign media emerged around that time, saying he had defected to the U.S. in an operation planned by the Central Intelligence Agency.