US journalist on espionage charge

AN Iranian-American journalist detained in Tehran has been charged with espionage, her lawyer said yesterday.

Roxana Saberi has been informed of the charges against her, her lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi said.

The charges come two days after her parents visited their daughter in prison.

The couple, from North Dakota, met Saberi for half an hour at Evin prison — the first time they had spoken to her since she called them on February 10 to say she had been arrested.

The 31-year-old US-born journalist has reported for the BBC, NPR and other media. She was arrested in late January. Iranian officials said at the time that she was working with expired press credentials.

Meanwhile, Iran’s president yesterday said that his country welcomes talks with the United States should the American president prove to be “honest” in extending its hand toward Iran, one of the strongest signals yet that Tehran welcomes Barack Obama’s recent calls for dialogue.