Clinton hopes Iran will free US detainees

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed hope that Iran would, on humanitarian grounds, free three Americans detained over illegal entry to the country.

“I would hope that the government of Iran would free them on (a) humanitarian and compassionate basis as soon as possible and return them home to their families,” Clinton told reporters on Thursday.

The three Americans, Joshua Fattal (27); Sarah Shourd (31); and Shane Bauer (27) were detained on July 31 for ‘illegal entry’ into Iran through a mountainous area of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region.

Clinton further pointed out that she had an “emotional” meeting with the three US detainees’ families and briefed them about the US government efforts for the release of the trio.

“It was an emotional meeting, and I described to the families everything that we are doing,” the chief US diplomat said. “I was impressed by their strength.”

On October 29, the Swiss ambassador to Tehran met the three Americans at Tehran’s Evin prison for the second time. He was with them for 40 minutes and said they were in good physical condition.

Switzerland represents US interests in Iran since Tehran and Washington do not have diplomatic relations.