US Marine once jailed in Iran faces suspicion of treason

A US government payout to Amir Hekmati held up due to suspicions he sought to provide classified intelligence to Iran.

After Amir Hekmati was released from Iranian custody in a 2016 deal trumpeted as a diplomatic breakthrough, he was declared eligible for $20m in compensation from a special US government fund. But payday never arrived, leaving Hekmati to wonder why. The answer has finally arrived: Newly filed court documents reviewed by The Associated Press reveal FBI suspicions that he travelled to Iran to sell classified secrets – not, as he says, to visit his grandmother.