I take it yesterday’s talks did not go well.
Tehran officials charge three Americans with spying
Robert Tait in Tehran
Wednesday May 30, 2007
The GuardianIran charged three Americans with spying and national security offences yesterday in a move that intensified suspicion surrounding intellectuals with US ties.
A day after US and Iranian officials held their first formal talks in 27 years in Baghdad, Iran’s judiciary branch announced charges had been brought against Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and Parnaz Azimi. The three, all joint US-Iranian citizens, are suspected of fomenting a “velvet revolution” intended to topple Iran’s Islamic government.
The charges against Ms Esfandiari, Middle East director of the Woodrow Wilson Centre, a Washington-based thinktank, follow her arrest this month after a period under virtual house arrest.
Ali Reza Jamshidi, a judiciary branch spokesman, said Ms Esfandiari, 67, was charged with “endangering national security through propaganda against the system and espionage for foreigners”.
Similar charges are faced by Mr Tajbakhsh, an urban planning expert tied to the George Soros Open Society Institute, a New York-based pro-democracy organisation accused by Iranian officials of backing opposition groups. The Soros Institute announced last week that it believed Mr Tajbakhsh has been arrested but dismissed allegations of spying.
