TEHRAN, 30 May 2007 — Iran has charged three Iranian-Americans with spying, officials said yesterday, just a day after Washington and Tehran held their most high-profile talks in nearly 30 years.
Under Iran’s Islamic Shariah law, the charge could carry the death sentence. Judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said the three were academic Haleh Esfandiari, social scientist Kian Tajbakhsh and journalist Parnaz Azima.
The Baghdad meeting on Monday between Iran and the United States, arch foes for decades, was restricted to discussion on how to end the conflict in Iraq.
Tehran accuses Washington of using intellectuals and others inside the country to undermine the Islamic Republic through what it calls “velvet revolution.” The United States has dismissed the accusation.
Iran has arrested, detained or prevented a number of US-Iranian citizens from leaving the country, including Esfandiari, director of the US Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Middle East program.
The United States has condemned the arrest of Esfandiari, detained on May 8 and accused of acting against national security and spying.
US State Department spokesman Tom Casey yesterday repeated US calls for the release of the three and said Switzerland, which represents US interests in Iran, still had not had access to them.
“These are individuals that have family ties to Iran (and) have done independent research and other kinds of civil society activities there for many years. They certainly pose no threat or challenge to the regime ... ,” Casey said in Washington.
Jamshidi said the Intelligence Ministry was investigating the case of Tajbakhsh.
“Tajbakhsh’s charges are acting against Iran’s national security ... and spying for foreigners,” he said. “The Intelligence Ministry has launched the complaint against him and investigations are at preliminary stages.”
The New York-based Open Society Institute said last week the social scientist and urban planner had been arrested and imprisoned in Iran on or about May 11.
Azima, a reporter for US-funded Radio Farda, has been stopped from leaving Iran, although Jamshidi said Azima was not under arrest.
“Azima is ... free. But she faces the same charges,” said Jamshidi.
Another Iranian-American, Ali Shakeri, is also believed to have been banned from leaving Iran, but Jamshidi said Shakeri had neither been arrested nor charged.
A Californian institute with which Shakeri is affiliated says he has not been heard of since March.
