UAE court convicts Iran national of espionage

A court in the United Arab Emirates convicted an Iranian national yesterday of spying for his country and aiding its nuclear program, sentencing him to 10 years in prison and subsequent deportation, Gulf News reported.

Reda Mohamed Hussein Muzaffar, the 48-year-old Iranian national, was convicted of espionage and fraud after he allegedly smuggled equipment and devices into the country that are likely to be used in Iran’s nuclear programme.

The UAE’s Federal Court of Appeal also found Muzaffar guilty of damaging relations between the United Arab Emirates and the United States by importing equipment from the United States and smuggling it into Iran in violation of international sanctions that were imposed on Tehran at the time.

Muzaffar’s conviction is the latest in a series of cases in which UAE authorities have prosecuted people for smuggling or spying for Iran.

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