In conflicting stories, an Iranian on-line news site named Nasimonline.ir was one of the first to report that Iran had arrested an female American spy who was trying to enter the country from Armenia who had, “a tool in her teeth “. Another news report said the woman, known as Hal Talayan, who tried to enter Iran without a visa, was the one who told the authorities “she had an intelligence tool in her teeth”. If true, she was detained by officials at Nordouz, 370 miles northwest of Tehran.
At one point, Nasimonline.ir reported the “tool” was a microphone. The same source stated that she said “she would be killed if extradited” to America. Even though two state-controlled news services, the Fars and Iran have published reports, these stories have not been authenticated by America.
The Fars News Agency reported she, “would be killed by American security forces if Iran gave her (up)” and may be seeking asylum. If it is true she is being held on charges of espionage, she will be the fourth woman arrested on spying charges by Iran. Two men are currently being held on charges of espionage and are facing trial February 6th, 2011. They are Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal.
In a response to these reports, “…Hal Talayan did not enter and thus never left Armenia,” said Artsvin Bagramian, head of the Armenia’s National Security Service press center.
Stating that there were a lot of stories “swirling around on this issue”, the United States is reportedly striving to gather more details about the arrest. “Once we get more information we’ll obviously share that with you,’ said Mark Toner, a U. S. State Department spokesman.
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