In other Iran news, the families of three Americans who were arrested in Iran this month are calling for their loved ones to be released. The three are believed to have mistakenly crossed over into Iran while hiking in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. The detained Americans have been identified as Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal. Shane Bauer is a freelance journalist who has written for The Nation magazine and the Pacific News Service. On Thursday, Bauer’s sister, Shannon Bauer, urged the Iranian government to allow the three to hear from their families.

Shannon Bauer: “I think it’s really important at this point that we let people know why they were there, to go hiking, and that these are three incredible people and that we miss them a lot, and we at least want to be able to talk to them and hear their voices and know that they’re OK.”

The State Department has asked Iran to let the three Americans meet with Swiss diplomats. Switzerland acts as the informal US representative in Iran.