Tehran, November 09, 09 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Iranian Judiciary officials announced today that three US citizens would be tried on espionage charges after their illegal border crossing.

The three US nationals identified by the US media as Shane Bower, Sara Short and Joshua Steel were arrested after crossing into Iran via Iraq's Kurdish region in August.

 

The three middle-aged Americans had Syrian and Iraqi entry visas at the time of their arrest at a border check point near the city of Marivan in Iranian Kurdistan.

 

Tehran's Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said that the US citizens were charged with espionage. He said there is more investigations underway to further determine their status, which would be announced in the future.

 

The trio were supposedly hiking in the war torn Iraqi part of Kurdistan near the city of Suleymanieh when later they were found inside Iran's border.