An Iranian appeals court has upheld the 10-year prison sentence of a former Foreign Ministry official convicted of spying.

The semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi as saying the court upheld Kamal Amirbeig’s sentence and fined him $200,000. The report did not provide further information.

Iran rarely discloses the names or occupations of alleged spies.

Authorities have jailed several dual nationals in recent years on espionage charges. Rights groups have criticized those detentions, suggesting hard-liners in the judiciary are jailing Iranians with Western passports to use them as bargaining chips

The US and Israel both view Iran as a regional menace, and are believed to have carried out past intelligence operations targeting its nuclear program.

From :Arabnews