An Iranian court has sentenced 13 people found guilty of spying for the Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency), Iran's state-run Press TV reported on Sunday.

The13 individuals have been lured into spying for the Mossad by overseas-based satellite television networks and clever advertisement campaigns, the report explained. One of their missions reportedly was to identify and assassinate one of the country’s experts.

According to Press TV, the defendants accepted large sums of money from Mossad and CIA agents and spied.

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry said last month that it had arrested over a dozen ‘Israeli-linked spies’ and ‘terrorists’. The ministry said the detainees were both Iranians and foreigners.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly accused Israel of carrying out intelligence work inside Iran and of being responsible for the deaths of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Israel and the West suspect Iran is aiming to obtain nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.