Former Iranian vice president faces jail for 'destabilising national security'

Accusations against Shahindokht Molaverdi relate to an agreement she signed with the UN's Population Fund

Former vice-president for women's affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi attends a ceremony at the presidential office in the capital Tehran in 2018. AFP

A former vice president to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says she intends to appeal against a prison sentence handed to her on Saturday, the state-run ISNA news agency said.

News of her planned appeal came after Shahindokht Molaverdi had been accused of handing classified information to foreign parties.

"I received the sentence this morning, but it's a preliminary verdict," Ms Molaverdi told ISNA.

"There is a 20-day window for reconsideration and I will certainly appeal."

She did not elaborate on her sentence.

Ms Molaverdi served as Mr Rouhani's vice president for women's affairs for four years and was replaced by Masoumeh Ebtekar in 2017.

She continued as Mr Rouhani's "special aide on civil rights affairs" for the next year, before retiring.

Fars news agency reported on Saturday that she had been sentenced by Branch 15 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court to two years in prison for "providing classified information and documents . aiming to destabilise national security".

Reporting on one of her trial sessions in October, state news agency IRNA said she was accused of aiming to transfer classified information to foreign parties by "signing a contract with the United Nations Population Fund".

Fars also said Saturday that she had been handed another six months for "propaganda" against the Islamic republic's ruling system.

The former official has faced many controversies during and since her tenure, including over comments supporting the right of women to attend male sports events.

A court in Tehran summoned her in 2016 for "spreading false information" after she reportedly said that all the men in a village in Sistan-Baluchestan, a southeastern province bordering Pakistan, had been executed for drug crimes.

Judicial officials denied her allegations.