British-Iranian man in jail for spying for Israel

IRAN HAS sentenced a British-Iranian national to 10 years in jail for spying for Israel, state TV reported yesterday.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last year that Western agents had infiltrated the country.

Judiciary spokesperson Gholamhossein Esmaili named the jailed dual-national as Anousheh Ashouri, who was sentenced to 10 years for spying, and two years for “acquiring illegitimate wealth” .

A foreign ministry spokesperson in London said Britain was supporting his family, “and our Embassy in Tehran continues to request consular access”.

Iran, which said in July it had captured 17 spies working for the US’s CIA, refuses to recognise dual nationality.

Esmaili also said the Supreme Court had upheld a 10-year prison sentence for spying against an Iranian woman, Aras Amiri, who worked for the British Council.