Iran's supreme court has upheld a sentence of blinding against a jilted suitor who threw acid into the face of the woman who spurned him, leaving her blind and disfigured, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A Tehran criminal court in November ordered a man known only as Majid, 27, to be blinded with 10 drops of sulphuric acid in each eye under the Islamic eye-for-an-eye (qisas) penalty, the government newspaper Iran said.

It said the supreme court on Monday rejected the defendant's appeal and ruled that the initial verdict was lawful and could be carried out.

Majid confessed to seeking revenge against his university classmate, Ameneh Bahrami, by throwing acid on her face when she refused his proposal of marriage four years ago.

Despite years of treatment in Spain, Bahrami, 26, has lost sight in both eyes and still has serious injuries on her face and body.

"Take his eyes away from him to become like me," Bahrami was quoted as telling the Tehran court.

"I don't demand qisas for myself. This is what the society wants. Majid must be punished so that such people know they cannot throw acid on a girl's face."

Several acid attacks have been reported in Iran in the past few years.