Iran’s intelligence minister has called on Washington to propose a prisoner swap to secure the release of three US citizens arrested last July near the Iraq border.
Heydar Moslehi said he had no doubt they were spies.
Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, have been charged with espionage.
Their families said they were hiking and strayed over the border accidentally.
Tehran allowed the mothers of the three detainees to meet them last week, but ignored repeated pleas for their release.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the three to be freed.
The case has further strained relations between Washington and Tehran, which are at loggerheads over Iran’s nuclear programme.
“The status of these three Americans as spies is clear and explicit. There has been no discussion concerning a swap,” Mr Moslehi said in comments reported by the semi-official Fars news agency.
