Iranian-American Middle East academic Haleh Esfandiari was charged Monday with seeking to topple the ruling Islamic establishment, state-run television reported. She was detained for months and subjected to interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence before being incarcerated in prison, cut off from communications or visits by her family.

"This is an American-designed model with an attractive appearance that seeks the soft-toppling of the country," state TV said.

Haleh Esfandiari, 67, is the director of the Middle East Program at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She came to Iran in December to visit her 93-year-old mother and. Soon after, her passports were suspiciously stolen at knifepoint by masked men, and then she was prevented from leaving the country when she tried to return to the U.S.

Esfandiari allegedly confirmed during interrogations that her Wilson center "invited Iranians to attend conferences, offered them research projects, scholarships ... and tried to lure influential elements and link them to decision-making centers in America."

On the other hand, the Wilson Center, alleges Esfandiari was subjected to weeks of interrogation and intimidation by agents of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence in order "to make a false confession or to falsely implicate the Wilson Center in activities in which it had no part."

In the Intelligence Ministry's communique, a copy of which was delivered to IRNA, they claim these are part of, "Intelligence surveys on efforts made by certain US institutes, foundations, and organizations aimed at influencing the developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran reveled certain facts for us."

"Regarding Mrs. Haleh Esfandiari, too, we point out that she is the head and founder of the Middle East Program of Wilson Center in the United States, whose budget is allocated by the US Congress."

"That center is the connection ring between the Iranians and the US organizations and foundations whose main objective is fortifying the social trends that act in line with the interests of the aliens. For instance, Ramin Jahanbeglou, who was one of the guests of this center, had been chosen by the NED Foundation, relying on the cooperation of other US foundations, theoretized the model of East Europe's collapse, matched it with the situation in Iran, and tried to pursue it as a project."