Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Iran will allow the mothers of three
Americans arrested along the Iraqi border in July to visit them in
a Tehran prison, the foreign minister announced Monday, saying the
decision was made on humanitarian grounds.


      The case of the three Americans, held for more than nine months,
has exacerbated tensions between the two countries that were
already high due to the standoff over Iran's accelerating nuclear
program and criticism of its crackdown on postelection protesters.


      Raising further concern, Swiss diplomats who were allowed to
visit the Americans on April 22 reported that two of them were in
poor health, according to their families.


      Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said on state
television late Monday that the Iranian government has ordered the
visas to be issued on humanitarian grounds.


      Iran has accused Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal of
illegal border crossing, espionage and having links to U.S.
intelligence, and has said they would be brought to trial. Their
families and the U.S. government have denied the spying accusations
and called for their release.


      The families of the three graduates of the University of
California at Berkeley say they were hiking in the scenic Kurdistan
region of northern Iraq and that if they did cross the border with
Iran they did so unintentionally.


      Mottaki said Iran made a decision to grant visas to the mothers
before President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended a conference to
review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in New York earlier this
month.


      The mothers flew to New York in hopes of meeting Ahmadinejad to
make a personal appeal for their children's release, but their
request to see him wasn't granted.


      "Before the New York meeting, we decided on humanitarian
grounds that these three mothers can visit their children,"
Mottaki said on a live television show. "We gave orders to our
mission in the U.S. (to issue visas). They can refer to our
mission, get it (visas) and come."

      He was apparently referring to the Pakistani Embassy in
Washington, which represents Iranian diplomatic interests in the
U.S. in the absence of an official relationship between the two
countries.

      The three mothers said Monday they were excited to hear the news
but did not want to count on making the trip until they get
official word that they could pick up the visas - which has yet to
come.

      "Yes we are excited, yes we are delighted at movement,
delighted to think we will travel there," said Laura Fattal of
suburban Philadelphia, the mother of Josh Fattal. "But we haven't
got the word yet ourselves to come pick up those visas. We're in a
truly holding our breath situation. We will leave the minute we
have those visas."


      Shane Bauer's mother, Cindy Hickey of rural Pine City,
Minnesota, said family members "have heard these rumblings before
so we are being cautious with our optimism." But, she said, "I
have to say I'm more hopeful than I've ever been."
      

Gallery

Senators: U.S.-Iran dispute separate from hikers' plight

Hikers' mothers make appeal to Iranian president

Desmond Tutu: Release 3 US hikers held in Iran

Iran will allow the mothers of three
Americans arrested along the Iraqi border in July to visit them in
a Tehran prison, the foreign minister announced Monday, saying the
decision was made on humanitarian grounds.


Iran says mothers can visit 3 jailed Americans

Go Deeper.

Like this?