Iranian police arrested academic and author Said Madani on charges of acting "against the security" of the country and of having ties to foreign states, AFP reported on Monday, citing Iran’s Mehr news agency.
"Suspected of having links with foreign countries and of having committed actions against the country's security, Said Madani Ghahfarokhi was sent to prison," Mehr reported.
Madani, 61, a professor of sociology at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, has published several books on social issues in Iran, including prostitution, violence against women, child abuse, poverty and drug addiction.
He has been detained several times in the past, notably in 2012 when he was sentenced to six years in prison, according to AFP.
Iran regularly says it captured spies from enemy countries, such as the US and Israel, but sometimes it reports the arrests of other nationals.
In August of 2019, Iran jailed two people, including a British dual national, for 10 years for spying for Israel.
In June of that year, a former Iranian Department of Defense contractor was executed by Iran for spying for the US government.
In 2020, Iran sentenced eight environmental activists, including an Iranian who reportedly also has British and American citizenship, to prison sentences ranging from four to 10 years on charges of spying for the United States.
Last week, Iran arrested two French citizens for allegedly fomenting "insecurity" there.
Days earlier, Iran announced it intends to execute Swedish-Iranian doctor Ahmadreza Djalali, who was convicted of spying for Israel.