Iraq hopeful about release of Americans in Iran

Iraq’s foreign minister says he’s hopeful that three Americans detained in Iran after crossing the border from northern Iraq will be released soon.

Iraq’s foreign minister says he’s hopeful that three Americans detained in Iran after crossing the border from northern Iraq will be released soon.

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The comments by Hoshyar Zebari come as the White House says Iran has confirmed it has the three Americans in custody.

President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, James Jones, said on NBC on Sunday morning that the Iranian government had confirmed their detention.

US and Kurdish officials said the Americans accidentally entered Iran across the poorly marked border on July 31.

Reports from Iran have said Tehran was looking into whether the three were spying. But until Jones’ comment, there had not been any official Iranian government confirmation that the three were in custody.