Two British-Australian women and an Australian man have been detained by authorities in Iran.
The Times reports one of the women is an academic who studied at Cambridge University and was a lecturer in Australia. It is believed the woman has been sentenced to 10 years in jail, though her alleged offence is not yet known.
The other woman is believed to be a blogger who was travelling through Asia with her boyfriend. BBC Persian reports the blogger was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for camping in a military precinct around Jajrood in Tehran province.
Both women were seized in separate incidents.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is aware of the situation and is working to provide assistance to the families of those involved.
"(DFAT) is providing consular assistance to the families of three Australians detained in Iran. Due to our privacy obligations, we will not comment further," a spokesperson said.
"All Australian citizens and holders of dual nationality with Australia who are travelling to or through Iran are urged to follow the travel advice on the DFAT Smartraveller website."
It is believed the dual-nationals have been incarcerated in Evin jail in Tehran, the same facility which houses Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The 41-year-old British-Iranian national has been incarcerated in the facility after being seized on spying charges in 2016.
The British-Australian dual nationals are reportedly being held in prison in Tehran. Source: Getty
The notorious prison is where Iran holds its political prisoners and has a reputation for the scene of various human rights abuses, including summary executions.
The latest two cases are believed to be the first imprisonments in Iran of British passport holders who do not also have Iranian nationality.
Iranian inmates sit inside their cell in the infamous Evin jail, north of Tehran. Source: AFP
The arrests come amid a downturn in relations between Britain and Iran, sparked by issues including the seizure by the Royal Marines in July of an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar.
With AAP
