[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran charged on Monday three detained American citizens with espionage, the official IRNA news agency quoted a judiciary official as saying, while U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said there was "no evidence" for Tehran to charge its citizens.
The three were held after they strayed into Iran from northern Iraq at the end of July.
"We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," Clinton said on a visit to Berlin on Monday.
The three, Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, crossed into Iran from Iraq and their families say they strayed across the border accidentally.
"The three are charged with espionage. Investigations continue into the three detained Americans in Iran," Tehran general prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told IRNA.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview with the American television network NBC in September that the Americans' release might be linked to the release of Iranian diplomats he said were being held by U.S. troops in Iraq.
According to Iranian law espionage is punishable by death. |