NEW YORK—Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE’-neh-zhahd) says he will request lenience for three American hikers who strayed across Iran’s borders.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the Iranian leader says the Americans broke the law. Nevertheless, Ahmadinejad says he will ask the judiciary to treat the case with what he called “maximum lenience.”
Speaking in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General assembly, the Iranian did not elaborate on what that might mean. Families of the imprisoned hikers have said they hope Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York might yield a breakthrough in the case.
The three have been held for 52 days since they apparently strayed into Iran while hiking in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region in July. Their case has become the latest source of friction between the U.S. and Iran.
