Iran arrested an American woman for spying

American woman, 55, arrested in north-west Iran near the border with Armenia.

Iranian authorities have detained a 55-year-old American woman on spying charges, a state-owned newspaper reported today.

The daily Iran said the woman had spying equipment hidden on her body when customs authorities arrested her in the border town of Nordouz, 370 miles (600km) north-west of the capital, Tehran. The report said she arrived in Iran from neighbouring Armenia without a visa. It did not say when she was picked up.

The woman is the fourth American Iran has arrested and accused of spying in less than two years.

In July 2009, Iran detained three Americans who were initially accused of crossing the border illegally from northern Iraq then accused of spying.

The US has dismissed the spying charges and says the three are innocent hikers. Their families have said if they crossed the border at all, it was not intentional.

One of the three, Sarah Shourd, was released in September on compassionate grounds. Her fiance, Shane Bauer, and friend Josh Fattal remain in prison and could go on trial next month.

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