washington says it s horrified by the execution, whilst the british prime minister, rishi sunak, said the hanging of alireza akbari was callous and cowardly and would not go unpunished. the uk has imposed sanctions on iran s prosecutor general, accusing him of being at the heart of iran s use of the death penalty. our diplomatic correspondent, caroline hawley, reports. news of the execution came on state run television early this morning, despite repeated last minute appeals from the uk. alireza akbari is thought to have acquired british citizenship after investing here and to have lived in the country for several years. his brother told bbc persia he had been enticed back to iran by his former boss, under whom he once served as deputy defence minister. the government responded swiftly, the prime minister saying he was appalled by a callous act carried out by a barbaric regime. and we have made it absolutely clear that the actions of the iranian regime has taken are com