TEHRAN AND CAIRO — An Iranian American journalist accused of spying for the U.S. was sentenced Saturday by an Iranian court to eight years in prison, a move likely to put a chill on the Obama administration's efforts to improve relations with Tehran.
Roxana Saberi, 31, who had reported for the BBC and National Public Radio, faced espionage charges during a trial Monday before Iran's Revolutionary Court.
"The eight-year sentence is true. I will appeal the verdict," said Saberi's lawyer, Abdul-Samad Khorramshahi. It was not known whether she was convicted Saturday or after her court appearance.
Saberi, who was arrested in January and is being held in Tehran's Evin Prison, could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison or even the death penalty. She was accused of spying on Iran, in the guise of a journalist, and passing information and documents to U.S. intelligence services.
The U.S. had condemned the accusations against Saberi as "baseless and without foundation." On Saturday, President Obama said he was "deeply disappointed" by the conviction, a White House spokesman said.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington would "continue to vigorously raise our concerns to the Iranian government. Our thoughts are with her parents and family during this difficult time."
The sentencing news came after indications Thursday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Islamic Republic wanted to improve relations with the West and would offer proposals to resolve the standoff over his country's nuclear program. It is uncertain what effect Saberi's case will have on Washington's diplomatic strategy, but it puts pressure on Obama at a time when Iran's influence is growing in the Middle East.
"This is a shocking miscarriage of justice," said Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, where Saberi grew up and was named Miss North Dakota in 1997. Dorgan said in a statement that the "Iranian government has held a secret trial, will not make public any evidence, and sentenced an American citizen to eight years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. I call on the Iranian government to show compassion."
The deputy prosecutor for the Revolutionary Court had told Iranian news media that Saberi, who holds dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship, confessed to the charges.
Saberi's father, Reza, who traveled to Iran to visit his daughter and follow the trial, told the Agence France-Presse news agency:
