Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal are American citizens who have been languishing in an Iranian prison since last July. The three friends, all in their late twenties and early thirties, were arrested on spying charges during Iran’s tense post-election period last summer.

The families of the prisoners’ deny all allegations, saying they simply strayed into Iran whilst hiking in northern Iraq.

Today the mothers of the imprisoned Americans arrived in Iran to see their children for the first time in nearly a year. The Iranian government is calling it a “humanitarian act.”

The United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran, so Swiss diplomats representing U.S. interests welcomed the mothers to Iran.

[Livia Leu Agosti, Swiss Ambassador To Iran]: (English)
"They will meet their children, that's why they are here, I can tell you that, that's a purpose of their visit to see their children, it is a humanitarian visit organized by Iranian authorities."

The three American mothers wore head-to-toe black veils to respect Iran's Islamic dress code. They spoke to reporters on arriving at Iran's International Imam Khomeini Airport, telling of their love and concern for their children.

[Mother Of Imprisoned American Citizen]: (English)
"We are here to visit our children, we have not seen for ten month, we miss them very much, and we love them and we hope to bring them home."

The arrests last year further complicated relations between Iran and the United States. Washington says they have been granted very little access to the prisoners.

Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West has intensified over the last two days, with Washington issuing a new draft of U.N. sanctions, backed by Russia and China.