IRAN:Iran 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 think tank, 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 had been arrested but dismissed allegations of spying.
Ms Azimi, a journalist with the US government-funded Radio Farda, is accused of acting against national security. She had her passport confiscated in January.
The charges came after Iran's intelligence ministry announced at the weekend it had uncovered US-backed spy networks in the country. It is unclear if the three accused are being linked to this.
The announcement followed the jailing for five years of Mansour Osanlou, the leader of a bus drivers' strike, in a move apparently designed to deter increasing labour unrest. Mr Osanlou was convicted by a revolutionary court of "offences against national security" and "launching propaganda" against Iran's Islamic system. His lawyers plan to appeal after arguing that the charges were unrelated to the reasons for his arrest.
The sentence came against a backdrop of unhappiness over rising inflation and high unemployment. Protesters clashed with police at a May Day rally in Tehran after complaining of unpaid wages and the suppression of trade union rights.
Mr Osanlou, leader of the Tehran bus drivers' union, was arrested after spearheading a protest in December 2005 for better pay and conditions.
An attempted rally to secure his release was crushed after security forces stormed the homes of protesters and arrested them, along with their wives and children.
All were later freed but Mr Osanlou was detained in Tehran's Parnaz Azimi prison for several months before being bailed.