Families of 3 jailed Americans criticize Iran

The mothers of three Americans jailed in Iran for nearly a year say that country's government is using their children as pawns in a standoff with the U.S.

The mothers released a joint statement Thursday in which they criticized the Iranian government publicly for the first time. Until now, the families have said they didn't want to politicize the case.

But in their statement, the mothers called their children's plight "a cynical attempt by Iran to exert leverage with the United States."

Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested in late July along the Iran-Iraq border, and Iranian officials have accused them of espionage. Their families say the three were hiking in Iraq's northern Kurdistan and that any border crossing was unintentional.

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