Iranian court hands 10 year sentence to pair accused of spying for Israel, US

The most recent verdict came as the world awaits news regarding the fate of Jason Rezaian, a reporter for the Washington Post held in Iran for more over a year on espionage charges.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
Updated: AUGUST 30, 2015 17:33
Israeli espionage (photo credit: REUTERS,JPOST STAFF)
Israeli espionage
(photo credit: REUTERS,JPOST STAFF)
A Revolutionary Court in Iran has sentenced two people to 10 years each in jail on charges of spying for the United States and Israel, the judiciary spokesman said on Sunday without naming those convicted.
"These two people were sentenced to 10 years in jail by the Revolutionary Court," Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.
In October, Seyed Mahmoud Alawi, the Islamic Republics 's Intelligence Minister, announced that Iranian authorities had arrested multiple spies in the province of Bushehr, which hosts Iran's very first nuclear facility.
"Some [spying] services like Mossad, the MI6 and the CIA and the countries which are enemies of Iran are naturally in pursuit of negative objectives in the Islamic Republic or sometimes they act directly and leave negative effects in political, economic and social fields," Alawai had said.
"Our nuclear, defense and missile industries and advanced technologies are the arenas in which they seek to gain intelligence and carry out sabotage operations," he added.
The most recent verdict came as the world awaits news regarding the fate of Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American reporter for the Washington Post held in Iran for over a year on espionage charges and whose final hearing took place earlier this month.
Ejei said he did not know whether Rezaian's verdict had been issued, according to Fars and other Iranian agencies.
Rezaian has been tried in closed-door hearings of the Revolutionary Courts, which deal with national security crimes and are criticized by foreign diplomats and human rights groups for their opacity, severe sentencing, and frequent use of the death penalty.
Some domestic critics of US President Barack Obama said the United States should not have concluded a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program, as it did last month, without securing Rezaian's release.
Iranian media also reported on Saturday that three Israeli officers were among those killed in an airstrike carried out by the Syrian air-force against rebel forces in Daraa.
The Fars news agency also mentioned the alleged demise of Jordanian officers, who, along-side the unconfirmed Israelis were referred to as "terrorist commanders."