Iran sentences US dual national to 10 years for spying

TEHRAN, Iran (Kurdistan24) – An Iranian court sentenced a US dual national to 10 years in jail on spying charges, Iran’s Judiciary spokesman said on Sunday.

The spokesman, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, did not give the name of the convicted dual national or provide further information about the sentence.

According to Reuters, the judiciary official did not specify details regarding the date of the sentencing but said the individual was a US citizen as well as “an unnamed country other than Iran.”

“This person, who is gathering information and was directly guided by America, was sentenced to 10 years in prison,” Ejei said on state television. “The sentence can be appealed.”

Reuters suggested the judiciary spokesman may have been referring to Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen with permanent US residency, though it was not immediately clear.

Zakka had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and given a $4.2 million fine when he was found guilty of “collaborating against the state,” his US-based lawyer told reporters in September.

This is not the first time a dual national has been detained in Iran.

Iranian dual nationals from the US, Britain, Austria, Canada, and France have been arrested in the past year on charges ranging from espionage to collaboration with “hostile governments.”

In January, Tehran’s chief prosecutor said nearly 70 “spies” were serving sentences in prisons across Tehran.

Meanwhile, Ejei revealed the brother of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Hossein Ferydoun, had been detained on Sunday.

Ferydoun was arrested for failing to meet the bail terms on unspecified financial issues, but will be “released once he provides the bail.”