The official IRNA news agency gave no names at all for most of the other defendants in the Revolutionary Court, which deals with cases involving security and organized crime. The report did not say when the verdicts were issued.

The report quoted state prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei as saying a total of 39 defendants received sentences, including four death sentences, two life terms and the rest of up to 25 years in prison. He said officials including deputy ministers in the government were among those sentenced, but did not identify any of them.

The main defendant, referred to by a nickname "Amir Mansour Aria," was among those charged with a potential capital offense. In February, state TV said he was accused of being "corrupt on earth," an Iranian legal term that means that the defendant is an enemy of God, and which in practice is a catch-all term for a variety of offenses. The charge carries the death penalty.