After three American hikers were arrested by Iranian officials for wandering across the Iranian border while hiking in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Iran now suggests they could face espionage charges
An Iranian lawmaker and member of parliament’s National Security Committee rejected the suggestion the Americans were tourists and said authorities were investigating whether to charge them with espionage.
“Surely we can say that they came as spies,” said Mohammad Karim Abedi, a hard-line lawmaker, speaking on Iran’s state-run Al-Alam TV. “The concerned authorities will decide whether they were spies or not. If it is proven that they were spies, the necessary legal procedures will be sought against them.”
“The U.S. forces are trying to leave some security elements behind, after leaving Iraq,” Abedi added. “It’s unacceptable to penetrate Iran’s borders this way. … We condemn this.”
He sought to compare the matter with a case involving British military personnel seized by Iran in March 2007 after Tehran said they had entered Iranian waters from Iraqi territory. The 15 sailors and marines were held for nearly two weeks, and some were paraded on Iranian television to deliver supposed confessions of trespassing.
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