Tehran, May 4: Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency says President Hassan Rouhani's brother has been sentenced to an unspecified prison term for corruption. ISNA said Saturday that Hossein Fereydoun, a close confidante of the president, will be able to appeal the verdict. The financial misconduct charges date back to 2016, and were brought by hard-liners who dominate the country's judiciary.

Rouhani, a relative moderate within Iran's political system, changed his surname decades ago. Fereidoun's trial began in February, and he's been free on bail since spending a night in prison in 2017. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Faces Calls to Resign Over Economic Crisis.

He had played a role as part of the team that negotiated Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers. Iran has in the past jailed allies of former presidents for similar charges.