Iranian Government Holds 3 Americans
The Iranian government, via state-sponsored television, has announced that they are holding three Americans captive. The three Americans alleged entered Iran via the Iraqi border near the Kurdish region, which is poorly delineated and heavily mountainous. State television claims that Iranian police near the town of Amed Awaa, in Kurdish Iraq, had warned the Americans not to enter Iran. The events which led to their possibly inadvertent entry are still unclear.
A second source, a government official of Kurdish Iraq, has also weighed on what happened. According to the Kurdish official, the three tourists had come to Amed Awaa for sight-seeing. Soon thereafter, on a hike to nearby natural scenery, the three strayed into Iranian territory and were quickly taken by Iranian soldiers.
It is likely that the three tourists could not have known that they had strayed in Iranian territory, as maps would have been useless in what is an extremely poorly marked mountainous region.
The State Department is unable to communicate with the Iranian government due to lack of diplomatic connections between the two countries. However, the Swiss government has acted as a liason in the past and is expected to do so again to mediate the matter.
Iran is still in the grip of civil turmoil after recent protests against disputed election results. It is unclear whether this had an impact on the rapid arrest of the three American tourists.