The daughter of influential former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was taken to prison late on Saturday to serve a six-month sentence for "spreading anti-state propaganda," Iranian media reported.

Faezeh Rafsanjani, a former member of parliament, was convicted in January and sentenced to jail.

The conviction is believed to be over an interview she gave to an opposition news site in which she criticised human rights violations and economic policy in Iran.

Her latest detention comes as her brother Mehdi Rafsanjani is expected to return to Iran after living and studying in the United Kingdom. Officials have said Mehdi should be arrested upon arrival in Iran, accusing him of fomenting unrest after the 2009 vote.

An independent source told Reuters Mehdi was in Dubai and expected to return to Iran on Sunday.