A court in Iran has sentenced two Americans to eight years in prison.
The men were sentenced to three years for illegally entering the country and five years for spying, according to state television's website.
Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were arrested by Iranian forces in July 2009 on suspicion of spying after crossing into Iran from Iraq.
Ms Shourd was freed on $500,000 bail in September 2010 and returned to the US.
The trio, in their late 20s and early 30s, say they were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq and, if they crossed the unmarked border into Iran, it was by mistake.
Washington has said the charges are totally unfounded and they should be released.
The two men have 20 days to appeal the sentence.
Last month, the men’s lawyer said he was hopeful that they would be released.
Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal, who share a cell in an Iranian jail, pleaded not guilty at a closed-door court hearing on 6 February and had been awaiting a verdict following another trial hearing on 31 July.
Their lawyer, Masoud Shafiee, has said that he had not been informed of the verdict. 'I don't know if this report is true or not, but this is not a light sentence,' he said.
In Iran, espionage can carry the death penalty but Mr Shafiee had hoped that at worst his clients would be convicted of illegal entry and might then be freed due to the two years already served.
The affair has compounded tensions between Tehran and Washington.
