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Iran Confirms Arrest of British-Iranian Professor

by Associated Press

   TEHRAN --

   Iran's judiciary has confirmed the arrest of a British-Iranian
   university professor on security charges.

   Abbas Edalat, a computer scientist and mathematician at Imperial
   College London, was reportedly arrested earlier this month by the
   Revolutionary Guard, which has detained several dual-nationals in
   recent years.

   Iran's official IRNA news agency on Sunday quoted judiciary spokesman
   Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi as saying Edalat had been detained on
   "security charges," without elaborating. It was the first official
   confirmation of his arrest.

   On Thursday, the semi-official Fars news agency said Edalat was one of
   several people arrested by the Guard over accusations of being part of
   a "network affiliated with Britain."

   Edalat had actively campaigned against Western military action
   targeting Iran.