Iran declares jailed Australia academic on hunger strike 'must serve her time'

Australian lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert has begun a hunger strike, refusing food and water, in an Iranian prison where she is being held on charges of spying.

Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert remains behind bars in Iran. Source: Supplied

An Australian academic jailed in Iran for espionage must serve out her sentence, the foreign ministry in Tehran has announced, stressing it will not submit to "propaganda".

Kylie Moore-Gilbert reportedly began a hunger strike in Tehran's Evin prison on Tuesday after losing an appeal against a 10-year jail sentence.

Australia expressed "deep concern" over the matter, with Foreign Minister Marise Payne calling for her to be treated "fairly, humanely and in accordance with international norms".

Iran has announced Kylie Moore-Gilbert 'must serve her time'. Source: Supplied

In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said "Iran will not submit to political games and propaganda" in response to "certain reports" in Australian media.

Ms Moore-Gilbert, "like any other individual with a sentence, will serve her time while enjoying all legal rights," he added.

The academic's arrest was confirmed in September.

She was accused of "spying for another country", but her family said at the time that she had been detained for months before that.

Ms Moore-Gilbert and detained Iranian-French academic Fariba Adelkhah began an indefinite hunger strike on Christmas Eve, France's Sciences Po University said.

Ms Adelkhah's arrest over "espionage" was confirmed in July. She is a specialist in Shiite Islam and a research director at Sciences Po.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne. Source: AP

Mr Mousavi said Ms Moore-Gilbert was detained for "violating Iran's national security" and her sentence had been issued in accordance with "all the related laws".

He added that Iran would not forget Australia's "illegal" treatment of Negar Ghodskani, an Iranian woman arrested in 2017 over violating US sanctions on Iran.

Ms Ghodskani gave birth in Australian custody before being extradited to the United States.

She was sentenced in the United States for violating sanctions against Iran but was released in September and returned home.

It comes after Iran released an Australia couple from detention after they were arrested and accused of spying and using a drone to capture images of sensitive areas.

Jolie King and Mark Firkin spent several months inside a notorious Iranian prison. Source: Facebook

Perth couple Mark Firkin and Jolie King returned to Australia in October, with all the charges against them dropped, after being arrested for flying an unlicensed drone near a military zone.