Iran has sentenced a person to 10 years in prison for spying for the Islamic state's arch-enemy Israel, a senior judiciary official was quoted as saying on Thursday. The semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), citing Tehran's Revolutionary Court chief Ali Mobasheri, gave no further details and did not specify whether the convicted spy was an Iranian or an Israeli citizen.

Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

"It concerns a spy who worked for Israel," Mobasheri said. "The spy has been sentenced to 10 years in prison."

Israeli officials have warned in recent weeks that Tehran is nearing the "point of no return" in its quest for nuclear weapons and have hinted that Israel may try to bomb or sabotage Iran's nuclear facilities.

Iran's judiciary spokesman told a weekly news conference on Wednesday that one of four people arrested for spying on Iran's atomic facilities had been tried and sentenced. He gave no further details.

But Mobasheri said those four spies, all of whom worked for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, are still awaiting sentencing.

Copyright Reuters, 2005