Senior MP: US Should Account for Sending Spies to Iran

(FNA)- Senior Iranian parliamentary officials lashed out at Washington for conducting espionage operations against the country, and said the US should account for spying on Iran.

Iran confirmed on Friday that four journalists, including Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, had been arrested and were being held for questioning.

Two of the detainees are Jason Rezaian, the Tehran correspondent for the Washington Post, and his wife Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper, the National.

US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was aware of the reports of the detention of three US citizens in Iran.

“We are not able to comment further at this time due to privacy considerations. Our highest priority is the safety and welfare of US citizens abroad,” she said.

Member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Hassan Asafari condemned the US state department's reaction, and said, "Instead of position-taking, the US state department should explain why it is sending its spies and anti-security forces to Iran."

The legislator stressed that US citizens are free to visit Iran, but said, "We just have problem with those who embark on espionage and sabotage operations and if they are affiliated to any government and stream, they will certainly be arrested by our security services and we will confront them based on our country's national laws."