Iran bans cooperation with British Council, warns of prosecution

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's intelligence ministry on Tuesday said any cooperation with the British Council was banned and would result in prosecution, the ministry's website reported.

"Britain ... was planning to implement a project for cultural networking purposes in cooperation with the British Council in Iran ... any cooperation with the British Council is prohibited and will result in prosecution," the ministry said in a statement.

In August, Iran's Supreme Court upheld a 10-year prison sentence for spying against an Iranian woman, Aras Amiri, who worked for the British Council in London. Amiri was arrested last year during a family visit to Iran.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alex Richardson)