AP: The United States is calling Iranian charges of espionage against an American journalist "baseless" and "without foundation."
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is calling Iranian charges of espionage against an American journalist "baseless" and "without foundation."
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Thursday that the United States is "deeply concerned about the Iranian announcement" of the charge against Roxana Saberi.
Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation on Wednesday, charging her with spying for the United States.
The new charge this week was a setback at a time when President Barack Obama has expressed a willingness to talk with Iran after many years of rocky relations under the previous U.S. administration.
