Fourth Iranian-American detained in Tehran

U.S-Iran tensions continue to build as a fourth Iranian-American has been detained on charges of trying to destabilize the Iranian government, The Associated Press reported today. Ali Shakeri, a business man and founding board member of the University of California, Irvine, Center for Citizen Peace building, is being held in a Tehran prison.

ISNA, a news agency often used by Iranian officials for leaking information to gauge public opinion, reported today that the case was being studied in the security department of Tehran’s prosecutor office.

Although the other three Iranian-Americans detained in recent weeks have already been formally charged by Iranian judges, it is not known if Shakeri is merely being detained or if formal charges will follow. President Bush has insisted that the four detainees be “immediately and unconditionally” released, amidst allegations that the U.S. was seeking to interfere with Iranian internal affairs. Iranian officials continue to claim that they have uncovered a spy network developed by the U.S. and its allies, an assertion that has been repeatedly denied by the colleagues and families of the detainees and the U.S. government.

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