Iran gives British Council worker a 10-year sentence for spying for UK
The arrest of Iranians accused of espionage has increased since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Western agents last year of infiltrating the country
London — Iran said on Monday that it had sentenced an Iranian woman to 10 years in prison for spying for Britain, as tension rises between Tehran and some Western countries over its nuclear and missile programmes. “An Iranian who was in charge of Iran desk in the British Council and was co-operating with Britain’s intelligence agency … was sentenced to 10 years in prison after clear confessions,” Gholamhossein Esmaili, a judiciary spokesperson, said on the state television. Esmaili said the woman was in charge of projects for “cultural infiltration” in Iran. He did not identify her, but said she was a student in Britain before being recruited by the British Council. Esmaili said the woman had been in custody for almost a year. He did not specify whether she held British nationality. The British Foreign Office did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. The British Council is Britain’s cultural agency overseas. The arrest of Iranians accused of espionage has increased...
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