Australian Accused as Spy by Iran, Returns Home; Guilty of Having Israeli Boyfriend

British-Australian university lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert, accused of spying by Iran, has returned to Australia after two years of captivity in Iran, the Australian government announced Friday morning. The academic’s release came as part of a three-way prisoner swap that included Thailand, Iran and Australia. A trio of Iranians serving sentences for a failed bombing attempt against Israeli targets in Thailand 2012 were imprisoned for a failed bombing attempt in 2012 against Israeli targets, were sent to Tehran. Australia’s government is publicly denying this was a trade. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Moore-Gilbert was detained at Tehran’s airport in September 2018 when its intelligence services learned she was in a relationship with an Israeli. The Cambridge-educated Middle East politics expert was sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage, allegations she has always denied. The Australian newspaper quoted un-named government sources as saying that it had taken many months of sensitive talks to consummate the deal, and that Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne had been key to the diplomatic strategy and the addition of third-party governments in the discussions.