Iran says ex-nuclear official guilty of propaganda

By Reza Derakhshi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Former Iranian atomic negotiator Hossein Mousavian, briefly detained in May on security-related accusations, has been found guilty of "propaganda against the system", a judiciary official said on Tuesday.

Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said Mousavian, who was freed on bail after a few days, had been acquitted of espionage and holding on to classified information when out of office, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The case has taken on a political dimension because of a dispute about how to handle Iran's atomic row with the West with some favoring the moderate line adopted by the nuclear team when Mousavian was in office and others backing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tougher approach.

Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Iran has faced two rounds of U.N. sanctions for refusing to heed demands to halt uranium enrichment, a process with both civilian and military uses.

The nuclear team when Mousavian was in office suspended enrichment work. Ahmadinejad has vowed no retreat and has denounced those advocating a return to suspension as "traitors".

Ultimately, decisions on nuclear policy and other matters of state are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say under Iran's system of clerical rule.

"Mousavian has been acquitted of two charges of espionage and holding on to classified information. The judge found him guilty of the accusation of propaganda against the system after the investigations," Jamshidi was quoted as saying.

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