The mothers of the three jailed US hikers in Iran have arrived in Tehran to visit their children for the first time since their arrests last year. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were detained in July after straying across Iran’s border during a hiking trip in northern Iraq. Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey, said she hopes to win their release.

Cindy Hickey: “Very grateful. We’re closer to our children, and so it’s very emotional for us. I’m very grateful to the Iranian authorities for allowing us to be here. I come with an open heart, I come with a grateful heart, and I come with a mother’s heart. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing my son and his two friends, and I have real strong hopes of the great possibility of bringing them home. I would like to plea for that.”