Three Americans who were accused of espionage after entering Iran illegally during a hiking trip will be tried as spies, a decision likely to escalate tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced the trial Monday, several days after Iran issued a list of 11 persons it said were being held by the United States, signaling a potential prisoner exchange.
Iran and western powers including the United States have been engaged in fruitless negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Obama administration has given Iran a Dec. 31 deadline to accept a plan to send the bulk of its low-enriched uranium abroad for conversion into fuel for a medical research reactor, or face escalated sanctions.
The Iranian foreign minister did not say when the trial of the three Americans would begin or specify the charges. He repeated that the trio, “entered Iran illegally, with suspicious objectives.” Prosecutors have previously accused the three of spying.
The three Americans are Shane Michael Bauer, 27; Sarah Emily Shourd, 31; and Joshua Felix Fattal, 27. They were arrested in July by Iranian border guards.
