Washington Post reporter on trial in Iran for spying

Tehran

Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian went on trial behind closed doors in Iran yesterday on charges of spying, in a case that has clouded a rapprochement with the United States.

Rezaian's wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who is also a journalist, appeared in court alongside her husband and a female press photographer, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.

The trial is being held in Branch 15 of the Tehran revolutionary court, which usually presides over political cases or those related to national security. 

The first session ended after about three hours, according to MizanOnline, a news agency linked to the judiciary. 

Rezaian was presented with the charges against him, including espionage, the report said. It said Rezaian had yet to submit his defence and that the date of the next session would be announced later. 

Rezaian, an Iranian-American, has been held since July last year in a politically sensitive case that has unfolded while Iran and world powers conduct nuclear talks.

His wife, who worked for the English-language newspaper The National based in Abu Dhabi, was arrested along with him but released on bail after spending two and a half months in custody. 

Rezaian, 39, is accused of "espionage, collaboration with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic republic", according to his lawyer Leila Ahsan. 

The United States and the Washington Post have branded the charges absurd and demanded his release. Tehran does not recognise dual nationality, and says the case is a purely Iranian matter.

State media gave no details of Tuesday's hearing and no indication of how long the trial might last. 

But it will overlap with the final stretch of negotiations between Iran and the major powers aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme by a June 30 deadline.