Iran Seizes 3 US Tourists

(NEWSER) - The three American hikers nabbed by Iranian authorities after allegedly crossing the border from Iraq were actually spies, an Iranian TV report claims. The Tehran-based station quotes an Iraqi policeman as saying the three were “working with the CIA.” Hillary Clinton meanwhile asked the Iranian government today for more information on the hikers, asking that they “return them as quickly as possible.” More»

(NEWSER) - The mother of one of the three Americans detained while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border confirmed that her son has been arrested by Iranian security forces, reports CNN. Joshua Fattal of Pennsylvania and two friends, who were warned by Iraqi police not to hike in the border region, were seized Friday afternoon. The fourth American in the group, who stayed behind at the group's Iraqi hotel, is now at the US embassy in Baghdad. More»

But Tehran has made promises in the past

(NEWSER) - Iran will allow the mothers of the three American hikers who have been in custody for nearly a year to visit their children. Tehran has ordered its UN mission to issue visas for the three moms, the AP reports, but no date has been has been set. Iran has told the families before that they would receive visas and then failed to deliver. More»

Policy reversal may be gesture of goodwill ahead of nuclear talks

(NEWSER) - Iran has changed its policy on three detained US hikers, allowing Swiss diplomats—who represent American interests in Iran—to visit them. Officials have been denied access to the three Americans since they were detained in July after crossing the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran. Tehran’s reversal may be an attempt to smooth relations with the US ahead of Thursday’s UN Security Council meetings, which will deal with the nation’s nuclear ambitions, the BBC reports. More»

Revolutionary Guard shells moutain settlements

(NEWSER) - Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which the Bush administration is about to declare a terrorist organization, have been shelling mountain villages in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq for several days. The fighting near the border involves thousands of Guards and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Free Life Party, which is stepping up its campaign for Kurdish rights against Tehran, the Guardian reports. More»