French academic released after months in Iran denies she spied for France

French academic denies she spied on Iran

PARIS — A French academic who was held for months in Iran has denied accusations from a former French intelligence official that she was spying for France.

Clotilde Reiss called the accusations “totally false.”

She was arrested in Iran last year during postelection unrest and accused of spying. She returned Sunday to France after her 10-year sentence was commuted.

A former top official with France’s DGSE intelligence agency, Pierre Siramy, said Reiss had worked for French intelligence in Iran.

Reiss said Wednesday on RTL radio “it is not suspicious to be interested in a country like Iran, to know Persian, to travel in the country.”

Critics say she was freed in an apparent trade for an Iranian man convicted in France of killing the Shah’s last prime minister.