Iranian-American faces spy charges after attempting to leave Iran

An Iranian-American accused of spying in Iran has been arrested after he tried to leave the country, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday. 

Iran's Judiciary Spokesperson Gholamhossein Esmaili confirmed the arrest but did not disclose the Iranian-American's identity. 

"The defendant has been freed on bail … and was arrested as he tried to leave the country," Esmaili told a news conference streamed live on a government website. 

"This person … faced charges from earlier in the area of spying and gathering information for foreign countries."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has arrested dozens of foreign nationals, mostly on espionage charges. Some have been swapped for Iranians held overseas for evading US sanctions. 

This latest arrest is the first Iranian-American detained by Tehran under the new Biden administration in Washington. 

Local media reports claimed that Emad Shargi, an Iranian businessman, had been arrested after trying to escape across a western border. 

The Iranian reports did not confirm if Shargi was a dual national. His family told US media that he had been summoned to a Tehran court and convicted of espionage, allegedly without a trial, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.