The mothers of three US hikers detained in Iran for the past 10 months on espionage accusations flew in to Tehran on Wednesday to visit their children for the first time.
Clad in long abayas and headscarves, in keeping with the dress code for women in the Islamic republic, they were greeted at the airport by the Swiss ambassador, whose country brokered the visit in the absence of US-Iran ties.
The mothers -- Nora Shourd, Laura Fattal and Cindy Hickey -- made no statement upon arrival at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, after flying in from New York via Dubai.
The three women, who have been granted one-week visas, are expected to be reunited with their children as early as Thursday at Tehran's notorious Evin prison, one of their lawyers, Masoud Shafii, told AFP.
It was unclear if they would would meet senior Iranian officials at a time when long-tense ties between the two countries have been further strained by a US drive this week to slap new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, were detained on July 31 after crossing Iran's border while on a hiking trip in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region.
Washington insists they are innocent and should be released, stressing that the three hikers had strayed in error across an unmarked border in a remote mountainous region.
But on Wednesday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi renewed accusations of espionage against the three young Americans.
"Iran acted in accordance with Islamic teachings and in a humanitarian way," ISNA news agency Heydar Moslehi as saying, referring to Iran's decision to grant the mothers visas.
"Despite their being spies and entering Iran illegally, they were dealt with according to religious teachings and in a humanitarian way" Moslehi said.
Moslehi first made the allegation that the trio were spies in April when he said Iran had "compelling evidence that three Americans were cooperating with intelligence services."
In March, Tehran public prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the three faced espionage charges. But last December, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said they were accused of entering the country illegally.
The mothers were excited and emotional as they left the United States on Tuesday, after having been granted visas last week.
"This is a day we've been waiting for," said Nora Shourd, while Laura Fattal said she would be "wildly happy" if she could bring her son home with her.
In their baggage they had packed letters from friends, photographs and empty notebooks for the detainees to record their experiences.
Washington has had no diplomatic relations with Tehran since the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution, and Swiss diplomats acted as go-betweens to broker the mothers' visit.
Iran has given no official indication it is preparing to release the trio, although the visit itself was seen as a breakthrough.
Ties between Tehran and Washington have been poisoned for decades, with tensions now focused on the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear programme. It is suspected by Western powers of being a cover for a weapons drive, but Tehran insists it is for purely peaceful civilian purposes.
According to the families, Bauer and Fattal are being held in the same cell, while Shourd is alone in her cell but able to meet the other two every day.
They have spoken to relatives only once, for a few minutes by telephone on March 9. Swiss diplomats last saw them on April 22 when they reported Shourd had serious health issues and Bauer was suffering from a stomach ailment.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
