Iran Agree to release US hiker on bail

Tehran chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said Sarah Shourd, 32, would be freed when $500,000 (£325,000) bail was paid, and could leave the country.

A senior White House official described the Iranian statement as "hopeful".

Ms Shourd and two men, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, were detained near Iran's border with Iraq on 31 July 2009.

Their families say they crossed the poorly-demarcated border by mistake while hiking in the mountainous northern Iraqi region of Khormal.
Continue reading the main story


Officials in Tehran said they had "suspicious aims" and that they intended to put them on trial for espionage. But they are still being held without charge more than a year later at Evin prison in Tehran.

US officials have said the three - all graduates of the University of California, Berkeley - are completely innocent.

After seeing her in May, Ms Shourd's mother said she was being denied treatment for serious health problems, including a lump in her breast and precancerous cervical cells.

The three friends were all said to be undernourished and depressed after more than a year in virtual solitary confinement.
Indictment 'ready'

At a news conference in the Iranian capital on Sunday, Mr Jafari-Dolatabadi announced that he was prepared to release Ms Shourd. He had earlier blocked a plan backed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to release her as a goodwill gesture.

"Based on reports and the approval of the relevant judge about the sickness of Ms Shourd, her detention was converted to $500,000, and if the bail is deposited she can be released," he told reporters.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

    The equipment and supplies they were carrying are only used for spying”

End Quote Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi Tehran chief prosecutor

"She is not barred from leaving Iran," he added. "The other two detained American hikers will remain in jail."

The chief prosecutor said Ms Shourd's lawyer had been informed.

President Barack Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, voiced cautious optimism after the Iranian statement.

"Obviously we are hopeful and encouraged by this news but there have been starts and stops in this before and until that actually happens, we are on a wait-and-see basis," he told NBC.

The BBC's Middle East correspondent, Jon Leyne, says a number of people facing trial in Iran have taken the option of leaving the country and forfeiting their bail, rather than risk facing a long prison term.

Mr Jafari-Dolatabadi said an indictment against the three Americans had been issued and that their cases were ready to be submitted to a court.

There were "enough reasons to accuse the three of espionage", he said. Under Iranian law, it is an offence that can be punishable by death.

"It has been proven that they illegally entered through the border of Kordestan [province]. Also the equipment and supplies they were carrying are only used for spying," Mr Jafari-Dolatabadi was quoted by the Mehr news agency as saying.

The announcement came a day after Mr Jafari-Dolatabadi said he had objected to a plan announced by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to release Ms Shourd at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan because legal procedures had "not been completed".

Reporters had been invited to a hotel in Tehran to witness her release on Saturday before it was announced that it had been postponed.

Our correspondent says that with all the recent twists and turns in this case, and the unpredictable mood of the Iranian authorities, Ms Shourd's family will be wary of getting excited about this latest offer.

read more

Iran 'delays release of US hiker

Iran has delayed the release of a US hiker held for more than a year on suspicion of spying, officials say.

Tehran's prosecutor general said Sarah Shourd, one of three detained Americans, would not be freed because legal procedures were not complete.

Officials had previously said the 31-year-old would be freed on Saturday.

Ms Shourd and two other hikers, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, were arrested in July 2009 after they crossed the Iran-Iraq border.

Iran initially said the three would be put on trial for espionage - an offence that can be punishable by death.

The US says they have committed no crime, and has appealed for their immediate release.

In a text message on Thursday, the Iranian Culture Ministry invited journalists to a hotel in Tehran to witness the release of the American woman.

She is believed to be suffering from potentially serious health problems, and the authorities had said she would be freed as a goodwill gesture for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

But Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said her release had been cancelled.

"The published reports have not been confirmed by the judiciary," he told semi-official news agency Ilna.

"Clearly any decision regarding the mentioned accused will be made after the completion of the legal procedure."

A presidential official later confirmed the delay to the official Irna news agency.

Neither man gave a date for her eventual release, and neither mentioned the other two detainees.

The BBC's Middle East correspondent Jon Leyne says it sounds ominously as if her case has fallen victim to the increasingly bitter power struggle between elites in Iran.

But he says Ms Shourd's family will be hoping that a decision that can be reversed once can be reversed again.

read more

U.S. Admits Existence of Iran Attack Plan

WASHINGTON — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen said Sunday the United States has a plan in place to attack Iran, if it is necessary.

“Military actions have been on the table and remain on the table” for curbing Iran’s nuclear ambition,” Mullen, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, told NBC’s “Meet the Press”. When asked if the military has a plan in place to attack Iran if it is needed, he replied: “we do.”

“I hope we don’t get to that, but it’s an important option, and it’s one that’s well understood,” he said.

But Mullen said attacking Iran would not be the best option Washington seeks “not just for the consequences of the action itself, but the things that could result after the fact.”

According to him, the so-called “dual-track” strategy, or the combination of multilateral diplomacy and international sanctions, remains the preferred option to suspend Tehran’s nuclear program.
(Read more.........)

read more

Ahmadinejad Reaction On U.S New Sanctions

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that new U.S sanction show that west does not

understand the Islamic Republic of Iran and "are aimed at preventing it  from becoming an

industrial state.But Iran has mastered the art of overcoming hurdles and "nothing can stop

the progress of our industry.
This speech made by him on saturday was the first reaction of Iran on U.S new sanctions on

Iran. Last week, the U.S senate and House of Representatives approved the sanctions over

Iran nuclear program.

Tehran claims the program is for peaceful purposes, but the United States and other Western

nations fear Iran is attempting to develop a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. sanctions target companies that sell refined petroleum products to Iran and

international banks that do business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
"It makes it harder for the Iranian government to purchase refined petroleum and the goods,

services and materials to modernize Iran's oil and natural gas sector," Obama said Thursday.

"It makes it harder for the Revolutionary Guards and banks that support Iran's nuclear

programs and terrorism to engage in international finance. It says to companies seeking

procurement contracts with the United States government, 'If you want to do business with

us, you first have to certify that you're not doing prohibited business with Iran.'"
But Ahmadinejad said Saturday that "threats, political pressure and Western sanctions" were

aimed at hindering Iran, Press TV reported.
"We are all part of one family and should endeavor for Iran's progress," he said. Iran does

not seek world dominance and its diplomacy does not aim to infringe on other nations'

rights, Ahmadinejad said, according to Press TV.

And he warned that "Iran will teach its enemies an unforgettable lesson" if they do not

correct their hostile attitudes, Press TV said.
He spoke at a ceremony marking National Industry and Mine Day. The main focus of his speech

was that Iran's industrial exports have reached $18 billion in the past four months -- a

figure that, Ahmadinejad pointed out, came despite sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran

News Network reported.
"Four years ago you sanctioned Iran and our industrial export was $6 billion. How much is it

now? It's $18 billion," Ahmadinejad said, according to Press TV. "I have faith in your

capabilities; I want to tell them again, do you want to sanction Iran again? I promise you

that this $18 billion will be $60 billion by the hands of people sitting here, and it will

be a slap in their face."
Press TV said the sanctions "are aimed at exerting additional pressure on Iran, targeting

its dependence on imported petroleum products. Tehran, however, has announced that sanctions

will put no pressure on the country since it has the ability to meet its energy demands,

should the need arise."
In addition, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, made remarks Saturday during a

meeting with staffers of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
"The current era is a special one from a political perspective, and the great Iranian nation

will undoubtedly pass this difficult time," he said, according to Press TV. He also warned

against the "disgraceful lies" by Iran's enemies regarding democracy and human rights.

read more

UN Security Council Passes New Nuclear Sanctions Against Iran

The U.N. Security Council passed a new round of sanctions against Iran today for its failure to comply with previous resolutions demanding Tehran halt its nuclear enrichment program. The new measures build on previous sanctions and pave the way for European countries to take their own punitive steps.


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities April 8, 2008 200 miles (322 km) south of the Tehran, Iran. The UN Security Council will vote on new sanctions for Iran.
Resolution 1929 passed 12-2 with Brazil and Turkey voting against the measure. In a surprise move, Lebanon , whose government includes members of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, abstained from the vote, which was delayed to allow those three countries to consult with their governments after last-minute diplomatic efforts by the United States and others. Earlier this morning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, according to a U.S. official.

"Today the Security Council has responded decisively to the grave threat to international peace and security posed by Iran's failure to live up to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said after the vote.

"These are the most comprehensive sanctions that the Iranian government has faced," President Obama said later from Washington.

"These sanctions show the united view of the international community that a nuclear arms race in the Middle East is in nobody's interest. And that nations must be held accountable for challenging the global nonproliferation regime," he added.

read more