Image copyright Tasnim News Agency/Reuters Image caption Vahid Mazloumin (R) was said to have amassed two tonnes of gold coins 
 
 Iran has executed a currency trader known as the "Sultan of Coins" for amassing some two tonnes of gold coins. 
 
 Vahid Mazloumin and another member of his currency trading network received the death penalty for "spreading corruption on earth". 
 
 According to the Iranian Students' News Agency, Mr Mazloumin and associates had hoarded the coins to manipulate prices. 
 
 Rights group Amnesty International described the executions as "horrific" and a violation of international law. 
 
 "Use of the death penalty is appalling under any circumstances," Amnesty said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that under international law "the death penalty is absolutely forbidden for non-lethal crimes, such as financial corruption". 
 
 Amnesty went on to say that the manner in which the trials were "fast-tracked" displayed a "brazen disregard" for due process. 
 
 How did these executions come about? 
 
 Mr Mazloumin was arrested in July for operating as a speculator and accused of hoarding gold coins with the aim of later manipulating prices on the local market. 
 
 In August, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved a judicial request to set up special courts to deal with those suspected of financial crimes. 
 
 Since then, these courts have sentenced several people to death in trials often broadcast live on state television. 
 
 The second man executed, who was also convicted of "spreading corruption", was linked to Mr Mazloumin's network and was reportedly involved in the sale of gold coins, according to Mizan, the official website of Iran's judiciary. 
 
 Both men were executed by hanging. 
 
 Why are gold coins in high demand in Iran? 
 
 Demand for gold coins and US dollars in Iran has soared as the country's currency has declined in value. 
 
 In the wake of the latest round of US sanctions on Iran, the rial has fallen about 70% against the US dollar, while gold coins have grown more expensive. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Gold coins have increased in value as Iran's currency, the rial, has fallen 
 
 As a result, a cost of living crisis has seen demonstrators take to the streets against perceived corruption. 
 
 The tough US sanctions on Iran target the country's oil and finance sectors. Iran is heavily dependent on its exports of oil, and the renewed sanctions, if effective, would cause yet further damage to the economy. 
 
 Tehran has been battling instability in its financial markets since April, when the government attempted to stabilise currency prices by introducing a single official dollar exchange rate. ||||| DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday called for “swift and just” legal action from new courts after the head of the judiciary said the country faced an “economic war”, state television reported. 
 
 FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday prayers in Tehran September 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl//File Photo 
 
 The rial currency has lost about half of its value since April under the threat of revived U.S. sanctions, with heavy demand for dollars among ordinary Iranians trying to protect their savings. 
 
 The cost of living has also soared, sparking sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protesters chanting anti-government slogans. 
 
 The central bank and the judiciary have blamed “enemies” for the fall of the currency and a rapid rise in the price of gold coins, and the judiciary has said more than 40 people including a former central bank deputy have been arrested on charges carrying the death penalty. 
 
 The judiciary has suggested that arch-foes the United States and Israel as well as regional rival Saudi Arabia and government opponents living in exile are fomenting the unrest. 
 
 “The current special economic conditions are considered an economic war,” judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said in a letter to Khamenei, calling for the setting up of special courts to deal quickly with financial crimes, the television report said. 
 
 Khamenei agreed, saying: “The purpose (of the courts) should be to punish those guilty of corrupt economic practices swiftly and justly,” the TV added. “The courts should be advised to (ensure) the accuracy of their rulings.” 
 
 New Islamic revolutionary courts will be set up for two years and directed to impose maximum sentences on those “disrupting and corrupting the economy”, and appeal rights will be curbed, Amoli Larijani proposed in his letter, read on state television. 
 
 In May, the United States pulled out of a 2015 deal between world powers and Tehran under which international sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. 
 
 Washington this week reimposed sanctions on Iran’s purchase of U.S. dollars, its trade in gold and precious metals and its dealings with metals, coal and industrial-related software. 
 
 The United States has told other countries they must halt imports of Iranian oil from early November or face U.S. financial measures. ||||| Image copyright EPA Image caption Photos have been released showing Zanjani (centre) arriving for trial in Tehran in November 
 
 Billionaire Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani has been sentenced to death for corruption, justice officials say. 
 
 He was arrested in December 2013 after accusations that he withheld billions in oil revenue channelled through his companies. He denies the allegations. 
 
 Zanjani, 42, was convicted of fraud and economic crimes, a judiciary spokesperson said at a press briefing. 
 
 One of Iran's richest men, Zanjani was blacklisted by the US and EU for helping Iran evade oil sanctions. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Babak Zanjani rejected the accusation that he had helped Iran evade oil sanctions in an interview with BBC Persian in 2013 
 
 Two others were sentenced to death along with him and all were ordered to repay embezzled funds. The ruling can be appealed. 
 
 In a separate development, a cargo of Iranian crude oil arrived at a Spanish refinery in San Roque on Sunday, the first delivery to an EU state since sanctions were lifted. 
 
 The Monte Toledo offloaded 1m barrels at the refinery belonging to Spanish oil company Cepsa. 
 
 Before the oil embargo imposed by the EU in 2012, one in every five barrels of crude Iran exported was sold to refineries in Europe. 
 
 Image caption The Monte Toledo offloaded Iranian crude oil in the Spanish port of San Roque 
 
 'Just a debtor' 
 
 Zohreh Rezalee, a lawyer for Zanjani, told the BBC the verdict was politically motivated and an appeal would be lodged. 
 
 "We believe that Babak Zanjani in this case is just a debtor," the lawyer said. 
 
 Who is Babak Zanjani? 
 
 Played a key role in helping Iran get around sanctions to sell oil abroad during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
 
 From Dubai, he controlled a global network of more than 60 companies involved in everything from cosmetics to air travel and banking 
 
 Accused of impropriety after Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who pledged to tackle high-level corruption, became president in 2013 
 
 Born in Tehran, attended a Turkish university and became a driver for Iran's central bank head in 1999, when he started out in currency exchange 
 
 Said he was worth $13.5bn but was reported to have significant debts 
 
 Downfall of a billionaire 
 
 Zanjani had acknowledged using a web of companies in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Malaysia to sell millions of barrels of Iranian oil on behalf of the government since 2010. 
 
 Before his arrest, Zanjani had argued that international sanctions were preventing him from handing over $1.2bn still owed to the government. 
 
 But at his recent trial, prosecutors said he still owed the government more than $2.7bn in oil revenue. 
 
 He was taken into custody a day after President Hassan Rouhani ordered his government to fight "financial corruption", particularly "privileged figures" who had "taken advantage of economic sanctions" under the previous government. 
 
 'Corrupt parasites' 
 
 The trial, unusually, was held in public, AFP news agency reports. 
 
 In a 2013 interview with the BBC, Zanjani played down his political connections in Iran, saying: "I don't do anything political, I just do business." 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Zanjani played a powerful middleman role selling oil under the government of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (pictured) 
 
 Zanjani has said he is worth about some $13.5bn. 
 
 For years things worked well for the businessman who appeared in photos with some high-ranking officials and was not shy of showing off his wealth, such as private jets and luxury cars, Amir Azimi of BBC Persian reports. 
 
 But when the local media started to report on his wealth, he came under the spotlight and under suspicion. 
 
 The death sentence could have wider implications for Iran's economy, where many were involved in finding ways to avoid the sanctions, our analyst adds. 
 
 International sanctions on Iran were lifted in January after a watchdog confirmed it had complied with a deal designed to prevent it developing nuclear weapons. 
 
 Oil minister Bijan Zanganeh has urged foreign investors to avoid middlemen, whom he describes as "corrupt parasites". 
 
 Zanjani was convicted of "corruption on earth", the most serious offence in Iran's criminal code. 
 
 Other wealthy individuals have been executed after being found guilty of similar charges. 
 
 In May 2014, businessman Mahafarid Amir-Khosravi was hanged after being convicted of embezzling billions of dollars.
– Iran has executed the so-called “Sultan of Coins” for the crime of “spreading corruption on earth.” Per the BBC, Vahid Mazloumin was convicted of hoarding gold coins to manipulate prices. He and another financial trader, Mohammad Esmaeel Qasemi, were hanged after the Iranian Supreme Court upheld the convictions, the Los Angeles Times reports. A third person, who also was convicted, has an appeal pending. According to state media reports, Mazloumin, 58, amassed two tons of gold coins. He was reportedly arrested in July and later tried by a special court recently set up to adjudicate suspected financial crimes. Several other people, often in televised trials, have also been convicted and sentenced to death, according to reports. Earlier this year, financial traders in Iran did “brisk business,” per the Times, as financial mismanagement by the government and renewed US sanctions decimated the Iranian rial and many people traded their cash for dollars or gold. The Iranian government blamed traders for the currency crisis and shortages of basic items, such as medicine and diapers, leading to police raids and the establishment of the special courts for economic crimes. Amnesty International tells the BBC that the resulting executions are “horrific,” saying that international law forbids the death penalty for “non-lethal crimes, such as financial corruption.” (Iran warns of "war situation" amid renewed sanctions.)