Gilbert, who was freed from an Iranian prison late last year, has spoken out about her ordeal for the first time.

She has revealed she contemplated suicide during her two year detention on espionage charges.

There are a few times in that early period that I felt broken.

I felt if I have to endure another day of this, you know if I could just kill myself.

But of course I never tried and I never I never took that step.

In an interview with Sky News Australia, the University of Melbourne academic explained what it was like to spend seven months in solitary confinement with only a telephone to communicate with prison guards.

The extreme solitary confinement room designed to break you.

It's psychological torture.

You go completely insane.

Um, it is so damaging.

I would say I felt physical pain from the psychological trauma I had in that room.

It's a two by 2 m box more.

Gilbert was detained in Iran in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

She fought the sentence through a series of hunger strikes and in her most daring opposition.

The academic says she once attempted to escape.

She was eventually released in a prisoner swap for three Iranians who had been detained abroad.

The Middle East politics specialist denied any wrongdoing, rejecting Iran's allegations that she was working as a spy for Israel.

Now in Australia, she says she is focused on her recovery.