US demands Iran release three detained Americans

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-10 04:50

WASHINGTON： The United States claimed on Monday that the three Americans, who are facing charges of spying, are innocent of the allegations, and demanded the swift release of them.

The three Americans "are innocent young people, who should be released by the Iranian government. Their release should be expedited," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

An Iranian prosecutor said earlier in the day that three US citizens detained by Iranian security forces on the Iran-Iraq border in late July are being charged with espionage.

It was reported that Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, have been in Iranian custody since July 31.

An official comment about the arrested will be announced in the near future, Iranian mass media quoted Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, a prosecutor in Tehran, as reporting on Monday.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that there was no evidence for Iran to charge the three Americans.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 and their ties have remained severed ever since.