Iran indicts member of its nuclear negotiation team

Iran's judiciary has indicted a member of the country's team that negotiated the nuclear deal with world powers, a spokesman said Sunday, likely an Iranian-Canadian national previously detained by authorities on suspicion of espionage.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi said it would be up to a court to decide whether to try the individual, who has not been named.

Ejehi did say the person involved was a dual national with the initials D.E. That suggests the person indicted is likely Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, a dual Iranian-Canadian national.

In August, hard-line news outlets said authorities detained Esfahani, who reportedly worked as a member of a parallel team focusing on lifting economic sanctions as part of the Iranian nuclear deal.

He later was granted bail, which is rare in Iran for those accused of having committed a serious crime.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Esfahani reportedly served as a member of the Iranian team working at the Hague on disputes between Iran and the United States over pre-revolution purchases of military equipment from the US by Iran.

He is a member of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants in Canada. He also has served as an adviser to the head of Iran's Central Bank.

The nuclear deal remains a sore spot for Iranian hard-liners, but it was a foreign policy victory for moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani is widely expected to seek a second term in Iran's May presidential election.

Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, meaning that those it detains cannot receive consular assistance.

In most of the recent cases, dual nationals have faced secret charges in closed-door hearings before Iran's Revolutionary Court, which handles cases involving alleged attempts to overthrow the government.