Washington Post Reporter on Trial in Iran for Spying

Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian went on trial behind closed doors in Iran Tuesday 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 defense 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 recognize 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 program by a June 30 deadline.

- 'No justice' -

Rezaian's case has been played out in the Iranian media, where he has been accused of spying and passing information about Iran to U.S. government officials.

Among the offenses he is alleged to have committed is writing a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama.

The Post's executive director, Martin Baron, said the newspaper had tried to obtain a visa for a senior editor to travel to Iran but its request was never acknowledged by the authorities there.

"There is no justice in this system, not an ounce of it, and yet the fate of a good, innocent man hangs in the balance," he said.

"Iran is making a statement about its values in its disgraceful treatment of our colleague, and it can only horrify the world community," Baron added.

Rezaian has been held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison and relatives have frequently expressed fears for his health, citing his need for medication to combat high blood pressure.

His American mother, Mary, has been in Iran for the past two weeks awaiting the trial. There was no immediate word on whether she had been permitted to attend.

California-born Rezaian is one of four American citizens that Obama has urged Iran to return home, with the support of the U.S. Senate.

The others are pastor Saeed Abedini, in jail for more than two years after being convicted of undermining national security, and former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, who is serving 10 years for cooperating with hostile governments.

A fourth American, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, remains missing after mysteriously vanishing in southern Iran eight years ago.