Iran jails US spies

Two US hikers accused of spying and illegally entering Iran have been jailed for eight years by a court in Tehran, reports say.

Iranian state TV's website said Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal each received three years for illegally entering Iran and five years for spying, the BBC had reported.

The two men deny the charges, saying they unknowingly crossed into the country while hiking in July 2009.

Fellow hiker Sarah Shourd was freed on $500,000 bail last year.

She was freed on humanitarian and medical grounds in September 2010 and flew back to the US. She did not return to face trial, saying in May she had suffered from post-traumatic stress and would find a return "too traumatic".

The report said "the case of Sarah Shourd, who has been freed on bail, is still open," AFP news agency says.

The men are said to have 20 days in which to appeal against the sentence. Their lawyer, Masoud Shafii, has told news media that he has not been informed of any verdict.

The trio - all graduates of the University of California, Berkeley - said they had been hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan and did not intentionally stray over the border with Iran, where they were arrested by soldiers.

Ms Shourd said they had visited the tourist village of Ahmed Awa, and hiked along a trail local residents had recommended.