Iran official claims Iranian-German prisoner died before being put to death

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian official has claimed that Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmahd died before Tehran execute him — directly contradicting the country’s earlier announcement he had been put to death. The comment Tuesday by Asghar Jahangir comes as Germany has shut down Iranian consulates over Sharmahd’s death. The judiciary’s Mizan news agency quoted Jahangir as saying: “Jamshid Sharmahd was sentenced to death, his sentence was ready to be carried out, but he passed away before implementation of the sentence.” He did not elaborate. Authorities in Germany and the U.S., where Sharmahd once lived, could not be immediately reached for comment. Iran had said it executed Sharmahd on Oct. 28.