Updated 12/02/2020 11h07 GMT: According to Fariba Adelkhah 's lawyer she ended a six-week hunger strike this Wednesday.
Speaking earlier today, "Adelkhah responded to a written request from civil and political activists and ended her hunger strike at midday (0830 GMT)."
Dehghan expressed relief that Adelkhah had ended the hunger strike that she began on December 24, but said she remained fragile.
"Her mental and physical condition is not good, she has been weakened," he said. "Her voice was difficult to hear and she has difficulty walking."
Fariba Adelkhah, who was detained in June, was on hunger strike since December 24 in Evin prison in Tehran as she awaits her trial.
"She is very weakened and is finding it hard to keep her balance," the Paris-based support group seeking her release said in a statement earlier this week.
According to the group, fellow researcher Roland Marchal, who was detained at the same time as Adelkhah, is also dealing with health problems that are being worsened by his incarceration.
Fariba Adelkhah & Roland Marchal Support Committee
Want to know more about Fariba Adelkhah and Roland Marchal, their research, or their detention in Iran? Have a look at: https://t.co/rttWZ7mkin
Fariba Adelkhah & Roland Marchal Support Committee (@FaribaRoland) January 3, 2020
To sign the petition for their release: https://t.co/JCyRMRNyua
Iran says Adelkhah and Marchal are a threat to national security
Both were summoned for separate hearings on February 5 at the Revolutionary Court that is handling the case without their lawyers present.
They are both charged with "colluding to commit acts against national security". Initial espionage charges against Adelkhah have been dropped.
"They consider they are now facing a long judicial procedure without end," the support group said, adding that it appeared a trial should begin before Iran's New Year holidays start on March 20.
Dual national Adelkhah, an expert on Shiite Islam, and East Africa expert Marchal, a French citizen, are both researchers with Sciences Po University in Paris.
Up to a dozen foreign nationals detained in Iran
Iran is holding numerous Western citizens in prison, adding to tensions between Tehran and the West following the unilateral rejection by the US of the 2015 deal on the Iranian nuclear programme.
Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert of the University of Melbourne is serving a 10-year sentence on espionage charges and British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed for five years.
According to rights groups at least 11 foreign or dual nationals are currently being held in Iranian prisons.
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