Iranian foreign minister hopes for release of US hikers

[News_Editor]

Iranian foreign minister hopes for release of US hikers

2011-08-07 01:16:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Saturday that he hopes that the two American hikers detained in Iran on espionage charges will be released soon, the state-run Press TV reported.

"God willing … the Judiciary will present necessary information in this respect when the time is right," Salehi said at a press conference in Tehran. He also praised the Judiciary for processing the case with "fairness and justice."

The fourth and final trial session to address the charges against Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal was held on July 31 behind closed doors in the absence of Shourd, who was released in September 2010 on bail. They were all arrested in July 2009 after allegedly crossing the border while hiking in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

They were later charged with espionage after the Tehran prosecutor found "compelling evidence" that the three U.S. citizens had been cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies. The three American nationals have pleaded not guilty.

The Iranian foreign minister also made a reference to the condition of Iranian nationals detained in the U.S., including Shahrzad Mir-Qolikhan, an Iranian woman who has been in a U.S. prison for three years.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-07

[maidu]

yea right, the US is going to hire two young men and a woman to go hiking in the desolate hills bordering Iran/Iraq in order to gather intelligence. Forget satellites, all we need is some hikers with daypacks filled with spare shirt, sandwich and bottle of water - and we'll get that scintillating intelligence data we seek. Maybe it was the ham sandwich that alerted the Iranians of the grave danger to their sovereignty.

[Scott]

Although I agree with you about these hikers, the Iraq/Iran border is quite sensitive. Some years back when I lived in the area, there was a lot of military activity. (Also a fair number of land mines). Remember that Iraq/Iran have a long and complicated history. I doubt the US presence in Iraq helped.

I might also add that a number of Iranian opposition groups took shelter in Iraq and lived in the mountainous areas near the border. Much of this area is also under Kurdish control which adds to the tension.

It's a stunningly beautiful area, but one best to stay away from.

[furyrider]

I don't know about these kids. I think it was pure stupidity on their part. I have been in Iraq as a force pro.military contractor since 05. By coming into a war zone as tourist was asking for trouble. I am sure the Iranians think the same. What the hell are they doing there.

[phillies]

I don't know about these kids. I think it was pure stupidity on their part. I have been in Iraq as a force pro.military contractor since 05. By coming into a war zone as tourist was asking for trouble. I am sure the Iranians think the same. What the hell are they doing there.

maybe they can plead insanity

[uptheos]

maybe they can plead insanity

I don't think they can possibly plead anything else, unless they really are spies.

[Pakboong]

The woman will forfeit her bail of $500,000 and remain in the US. Odd that they let her out. There is something not being said about this one. With the killings of Iranian nuclear scientists in the news regularly, the Iranians are more than sensitive to these kinds of intrusions.

[Scott]

Two posts removed. It is against forum rules to alter another persons quote. Also, do not used color fonts in posting, this makes reading the post difficult.

[maidu]

I don't know about these kids. I think it was pure stupidity on their part. I have been in Iraq as a force pro.military contractor since 05. By coming into a war zone as tourist was asking for trouble. I am sure the Iranians think the same. What the hell are they doing there.

National borders are man-made artificial boundaries. Some young people like to take chances. it's exhilirating, often foolish, sometimes dangerous. When you were a kid, did you ever sneak over the fence and perhaps slip in to your neighbor's pool?

I don't justify what the 3 did, but I can relate to it. I've slipped past border guards in Shan State Burma a dozen times (and I'm a half century old). Yea it's dumb, but it's fun and gets the adrenaline going. Iranian border authorities, like Burmese, Chinese, NPK and dozens of other countries' are essentially paranoid stuffy, self-important, gas bag automatons, and this sort of antic showcases that. "Imagine there's no countries, I wonder if you can?" John Lennon

Edited August 8, 2011 by maidu