“She was very humble and very kind and didn’t display any academic arrogance.”

Two other Australians were also arrested and detained in Iran in a separate,more recent,incident.

The couple,who were on a backpacking trip,were arrested after taking photos while camping at a military precinct in Tehran province.

TheTimes of London reported the woman as a British-Australian blogger who was travelling with her Australian boyfriend.

A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the families of the three Australians detained in Iran.

"Due to our privacy obligations,we will not comment further,"the spokesperson said in a statement,before urging travellers to follow theDFAT travel advice in place for Iran. That advice urges Australians to"reconsider your need to travel".

Another woman,Iranian-Australian dual citizen and Melbourne University academic Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi,was arrested in December last year as she attempted to leave Iran,aspreviously reported by theHerald andThe Age.

Hosseini-Chavoshi,who is a population expert affiliated with the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health,was charged with trying to"infiltrate"Iranian institutions. A source close to Hosseini-Chavoshi says she has been released on bail,but has not been allowed to leave Iran while the investigation into her case is under way.

DFAT's Smart Traveller website warns that"foreigners including Australians could be arbitrarily detained or arrested".

In August,the deputy chair of Iran's foreign relations parliamentary committee Kamal Dehghani Firouzabadi warned Australia's"reputation and prestige"would suffer after they joined a US-led military coalition to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

British forces seized an Iranian oil tanker in July,claiming it was destined for Syria. Two weeks later,Iran seized British oil tanker,the Stena Impero. The Iranian tanker was later released. The Stena Impero is still being held by Iran.