seon
2009-08-10 05:13:10 UTC
Why does Iran charge so many innocent people with spying? Its just another
phony charge.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_iraq_missing_americans
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Iran state TV confirmed Saturday that it has detained
three Americans who crossed the border from northern Iraq, saying they
failed to heed warnings from Iranian guards. Kurdish officials from the
self-ruled region in northern Iraq said the three - two men and a woman -
were tourists who had mistakenly crossed into Iranian territory Friday while
hiking in a mountainous area near the resort town of Ahmed Awaa.
"The Iranians said they have arrested them because they entered their land
without legal permission," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish regional
government's envoy to Washington.
Iran's state owned Arabic-language al-Alam TV station cited a "well-informed
source" in the Interior Ministry that the three Americans were detained
Friday after crossing into Iran's Kurdistan province.
The report said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings
from Iranian border guards.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Saturday that Washington had
asked the Swiss, who represent U.S. interests in Tehran, "to confirm these
reports with Iranian authorities and, if true, to seek consular access" to
the detained Americans.
The detentions were the latest irritant in relations between Iran and the
United States, which have had no diplomatic ties since 1979 when militant
students stormed the U.S Embassy in Tehran and took Americans there hostage
for 444 days. The two countries also are locked in a bitter dispute over
Tehran's nuclear program.
They also came at a sensitive time for the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government
as it seeks to balance delicate ties between its U.S. and Iranian allies.
Iraqi security forces recently staged a deadly raid on a camp housing an
Iranian opposition group that was protected by the American military for
years. The raid was applauded by Tehran.
Kurds occupy an area that sprawls across southwestern Turkey, northern Iraq
and eastern Iran. The borders are mountainous and not clearly marked, making
them popular smuggling routes for centuries.
Iraq's Kurdish region has been relatively free of the violence that plagues
the rest of Iraq. Foreigners often feel freer to move around without
security guards in the area, and it's relatively easy to enter the region
from Turkey, particularly by plane. The Kurdish government generally grants
visitors visas valid for one week when they arrive at the airport.
The ethnic minority gained autonomy after rising up against Saddam Hussein
in 1991, and the region was protected from his forces by a U.S.-British
no-fly zone until Saddam's fall after the 2003 U.S. invasion.
The three Americans had traveled with a companion to Turkey, then entered
the Kurdish region Tuesday through the border crossing at Zakho and traveled
to Sulaimaniyah, according to the Kurdish regional government. On Thursday,
the three took a taxi to Ahmed Awaa, it added.
The regional government's statement said the three went astray during an
excursion and were detained by Iranian authorities at the border at about
1:30 p.m. Friday.
"After walking around the area and hiking the mountain, they lost their way
due to their lack of familiarity with the location, and entered Iranian
territory," it said, pledging to work with U.S. and Iranian officials to
find a solution.
The three were last heard from after they contacted a friend saying they had
entered Iran by mistake and troops had surrounded them, a Kurdish security
official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't
authorized to release the information.
The official said the account came from the fourth member of their group who
was feeling sick and had stayed behind in Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260
kilometers) northeast of Baghdad.
The Iranian state TV report claimed the four Americans were together when
they crossed the border, but "only one returned (to Iraq), while the three
were arrested."
The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.
The area where the three disappeared is a popular hiking destination known
for a picturesque waterfall and rocky scenery as well as a thick growth of
fruit and nut trees. The official said camping equipment and two backpacks
apparently belonging to the Americans were found in the area and it seemed
they were hiking above the waterfall when they accidentally crossed the
border.
Kurdish officials said U.S. helicopters and Humvees deployed to the nearby
city of Halabja to search for the Americans after they were reported missing
on Friday but left after it was determined they had been seized by the
Iranians.
In March 2007, Iranian forces captured 15 British service members as they
carried out a boarding operation in two inflatable boats launched from the
HMS Cornwall in waters off southern Iraq.
Iran charged them with being in its territorial waters, and the government
televised apologies by some of the captured crew. They were all eventually
freed without an apology from Britain, which steadfastly insisted the crew
members were taken in Iraqi waters where they were authorized to be.
phony charge.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_iraq_missing_americans
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Iran state TV confirmed Saturday that it has detained
three Americans who crossed the border from northern Iraq, saying they
failed to heed warnings from Iranian guards. Kurdish officials from the
self-ruled region in northern Iraq said the three - two men and a woman -
were tourists who had mistakenly crossed into Iranian territory Friday while
hiking in a mountainous area near the resort town of Ahmed Awaa.
"The Iranians said they have arrested them because they entered their land
without legal permission," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish regional
government's envoy to Washington.
Iran's state owned Arabic-language al-Alam TV station cited a "well-informed
source" in the Interior Ministry that the three Americans were detained
Friday after crossing into Iran's Kurdistan province.
The report said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings
from Iranian border guards.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Saturday that Washington had
asked the Swiss, who represent U.S. interests in Tehran, "to confirm these
reports with Iranian authorities and, if true, to seek consular access" to
the detained Americans.
The detentions were the latest irritant in relations between Iran and the
United States, which have had no diplomatic ties since 1979 when militant
students stormed the U.S Embassy in Tehran and took Americans there hostage
for 444 days. The two countries also are locked in a bitter dispute over
Tehran's nuclear program.
They also came at a sensitive time for the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government
as it seeks to balance delicate ties between its U.S. and Iranian allies.
Iraqi security forces recently staged a deadly raid on a camp housing an
Iranian opposition group that was protected by the American military for
years. The raid was applauded by Tehran.
Kurds occupy an area that sprawls across southwestern Turkey, northern Iraq
and eastern Iran. The borders are mountainous and not clearly marked, making
them popular smuggling routes for centuries.
Iraq's Kurdish region has been relatively free of the violence that plagues
the rest of Iraq. Foreigners often feel freer to move around without
security guards in the area, and it's relatively easy to enter the region
from Turkey, particularly by plane. The Kurdish government generally grants
visitors visas valid for one week when they arrive at the airport.
The ethnic minority gained autonomy after rising up against Saddam Hussein
in 1991, and the region was protected from his forces by a U.S.-British
no-fly zone until Saddam's fall after the 2003 U.S. invasion.
The three Americans had traveled with a companion to Turkey, then entered
the Kurdish region Tuesday through the border crossing at Zakho and traveled
to Sulaimaniyah, according to the Kurdish regional government. On Thursday,
the three took a taxi to Ahmed Awaa, it added.
The regional government's statement said the three went astray during an
excursion and were detained by Iranian authorities at the border at about
1:30 p.m. Friday.
"After walking around the area and hiking the mountain, they lost their way
due to their lack of familiarity with the location, and entered Iranian
territory," it said, pledging to work with U.S. and Iranian officials to
find a solution.
The three were last heard from after they contacted a friend saying they had
entered Iran by mistake and troops had surrounded them, a Kurdish security
official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't
authorized to release the information.
The official said the account came from the fourth member of their group who
was feeling sick and had stayed behind in Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles (260
kilometers) northeast of Baghdad.
The Iranian state TV report claimed the four Americans were together when
they crossed the border, but "only one returned (to Iraq), while the three
were arrested."
The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.
The area where the three disappeared is a popular hiking destination known
for a picturesque waterfall and rocky scenery as well as a thick growth of
fruit and nut trees. The official said camping equipment and two backpacks
apparently belonging to the Americans were found in the area and it seemed
they were hiking above the waterfall when they accidentally crossed the
border.
Kurdish officials said U.S. helicopters and Humvees deployed to the nearby
city of Halabja to search for the Americans after they were reported missing
on Friday but left after it was determined they had been seized by the
Iranians.
In March 2007, Iranian forces captured 15 British service members as they
carried out a boarding operation in two inflatable boats launched from the
HMS Cornwall in waters off southern Iraq.
Iran charged them with being in its territorial waters, and the government
televised apologies by some of the captured crew. They were all eventually
freed without an apology from Britain, which steadfastly insisted the crew
members were taken in Iraqi waters where they were authorized to be.
