Fattal, who spent three years with a group dedicated to sustainable farming near Cottage Grove, Oregon, had been overseas since January as a teaching assistant with the International Honors Program.
The hikers’ families declined interview requests, but issued a statement saying “the allegations that our loved ones may have been engaged in espionage is untrue.”
Tehran chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said the three “have been accused of espionage” and that investigations were continuing, according to the state news agency IRNA.
It was not clear from his comments whether formal charges had been filed against the Americans, since the word in Farsi he used could mean either “accused” or “charged.”
But it was a signal that Iranian authorities intend to prosecute them — and on far stiffer charges than simply accidentally crossing the border.
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