Azarmvand, who works for the state-run financial newspaper SMT, was also banned from leaving the country for two years.

Azarmvand, was arrested in September over his reporting and held in Tehran's Evin prison, a primary site for political detainees. He was later released on bail before his trial began on January 8. His sentence was handed down on January 19.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned his arrest, saying that the jailing of journalists for doing their jobs was "an outrageous form of censorship that must end."

Iran ranks 174th out of 180 countries in the world in Reporters Without Borders' 2021 press-freedom index.