Iranian author said sentenced to death after urging peace in Israel TV interviewOpposition-affiliated media says Mehdi Bahman convicted of ‘espionage’ after speaking to Channel 13 earlier in the year, denouncing regime, calling for normalization with IsraelIran has sentenced a dissident author to death on “espionage” charges after he gave an interview earlier in the year to an Israeli television channel, opposition-affiliated media reported Thursday.Known for his efforts to promote religious coexistence, Bahman was arrested on October 12 after giving an interview to an Israeli TV channel.Iran International, for its part, describes itself as an “independent news organization providing uncensored, accurate and unbiased news to a Farsi-speaking viewership within and outside Iran.” It says it has “no affiliation or association” with any political group or any organization.#اعدام_نکنید https://t.co/Bo63sPiY0g— Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) December 29, 2022Protests have gripped Iran since the September 16 death in custody of Iranian-Kurdish Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code for women.Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in public from a crane on December 12 after being sentenced by a court in Mashhad for killing two members of the security forces with a knife."