Clinton Urges Iran to Release Detained Americans: Via Voice of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran to release all Americans detained in the country, including three hikers arrested last month.

Clinton Saturday called on Iranian authorities to grant consular access to the three hikers, who were detained July 31.

Iranian television has described the three as spies who illegally entered the country.
( Read more ... )

Clinton Deplores Reported Iranian Prisoner Abuse: Via Voice of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she deplores the reported abuse in custody of Iranians rounded up in protests of the country's disputed June 12 presidential election. Clinton discussed the situation in Iran with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

The comments by Clinton at a press appearance with her British counterpart were the first by a senior U.S. official on the multiple reports from Iran this week that detainees in the crackdown by the Tehran government may have been tortured, and some killed, while in detention.

Clinton hailed what she termed the "incredible courage" of Iranian election protestors in standing up against what they viewed as an infringement of their rights, and said the alleged abuse of prisoners is deplorable.
( Read more ... )

VOA News - Clinton Cites 'Huge Credibility Gap' in Iran Over Election: Via Voice of America.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that a "huge credibility gap" remains among Iranians about their country's June 12 presidential election, despite the partial vote recount that is said to have upheld the announced victory by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Clinton also deplored Iran's detention of several Iranian staff members of the British embassy in Tehran.  

Clinton says the broad skepticism among Iranians about the electoral process and the apparent re-election of President Ahmadinejad is unlikely to be quelled by Monday's announcement by Iran's Guardian Council that a partial recount upheld the originally-announced outcome.

The powerful council, which supervises elections and has wide-ranging powers in the Islamic government, said a random recount of 10 percent of the ballot boxes nationwide upheld Mr. Ahmadinejad's landslide victory over reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Clinton, appearing at the State Department's daily press briefing, said she did not want to speculate on Iran's political future, but she that the reported recount is unlikely to do much to defuse election-related tensions.
( Read more ... )