Iranian official media deny reports on detainment of American spy

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iranian authorities have arrested a 55-year-old American woman - reportedly with a microphone hidden in her teeth - on suspicion of spying.

U.S. officials could not immediately confirm the report. But if true, the woman would be the fourth American that Iran has detained and accused of spying in less than two years.

The state-owned newspaper IRAN said the woman, identified in Farsi as Hal Talaian, had "spying equipment or a microphone" concealed in her teeth when customs authorities detained her in the border town of Nordouz, 370 miles northwest of the capital, Tehran. The report said she arrived in Iran from neighboring Armenia without a visa. The paper did not say when she was detained.

But Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying the woman was taken into custody "about one week ago." Fars also said she told Iranian border guards that her life would be in danger if they sent her back to Armenia.

In Washington, an official at the State Department said the United States has reached out to the Swiss, who represent American interests in Iran, to look into the reports. But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, said, "Right now, we can't even confirm she is an American citizen."

Armenian authorities had no immediate comment on the reported arrest.

The case, if confirmed, would be only the latest point of confrontation between Iran and the United States, The Washington Post reported.

Meanwhile, according to AP, Iranian state television said that authorities did not arrest an American woman who tried to enter the country from Armenia, casting doubt on earlier media reports.

The state-run Arabic-language Al Alam TV quoted an informed source denying reports of her arrest and saying the woman was turned around at the border crossing because she did not have a visa. The report did not identify the source.