TEHRAN, Aug. 16 -- Yalda Moaiery received 15 years in prison this month for photographs. The charge was not stealing state secrets or organizing against the government. It was for providing images to organizations the Iranian state has designated as American or Israeli-linked. On Sunday, the parliament in Tehran voted to ensure that what happened to her would have an explicit statutory basis the next time.

The Majlis approved a bill criminalizing contact with media outlets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic, specifically American and Israeli press and any organization financed by either country. The legislation, which now heads to the Guardian Council for constitutional review, sets prison terms of six months to two years for journal...