Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Iran charged three American hikers with espionage, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they were innocent and called for their release.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal are accused of spying, state-run Press TV cited Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari- Dolatabadi as saying today. U.S. officials say the three were on a hiking trip when they mistakenly crossed into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan on July 31.

“If drivers in a city pass through a red light and wreck the traffic, can you ask the police in the name of humanity not to punish them?” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Istanbul today.

Ahmadinejad said he hopes the hikers can persuade Iran’s judiciary that they are innocent. “Whether they are spies or not must be determined by the courts,” he said.

The espionage charges may stir more tension with the U.S., which -- along with its allies --- is entangled in a dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear program.

“We believe strongly that there’s no evidence to support any charge whatsoever,” Clinton told reporters in Berlin today.

Iran sparked a crisis in 2007 when it seized and held 15 U.K. sailors and marines for two weeks. Two years earlier, Iran jailed a French and a German citizen who had strayed into Iranian waters during a fishing trip. Sentenced to 18 months in jail, they were released after being granted clemency by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

‘Bargaining Chip’

“Iran has used American hostages before, going all the way back to the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, as a bargaining chip,” Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Dubai-based Institute of Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said today in a telephone interview in a reference to the Nov. 4 1979 seizure of U.S. hostages.

“The Iranian government’s approach has not changed,” Karasik said. “It uses hostages as a card to make a better deal and to send the message that it is the one in charge. The U.S. does understand, yet may not be willing to play the game, which can raise tension.”

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said today “there is no evidence for these kinds of charges,” adding that the U.S. had not received confirmation of the charges from the Swiss government, which represents U.S. interests in Tehran.

‘Three Young People’

“We renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and let them return to their families,” Kelly said.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today the hikers were “innocent young people” and that their “release should be expedited.”

The three Americans are in good health, Swiss diplomats told the families after visiting the detainees on Sept. 29. The Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, “reported that Shane, Sarah and Josh are in good shape and are being well treated,” the families said in a statement.

The families, in a later statement today, called the allegation that the three were involved in spying “untrue.”

The accusations are “entirely at odds with the people Shane, Sarah and Josh are and with anything that Iran can have learned about them since they were detained on July 31,” the statement said. “Shane, Sarah and Josh have now been held for more than 100 days simply because they apparently strayed into Iran by accident while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan. We again call on Iran to show compassion to our loved ones and release them without delay.”

Ties to West

Iran’s suspicion of foreigners and Iranians with ties to the West increased following the disputed June 12 re-election of Ahmadinejad, which led to the largest anti-government street protests in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic. Foreigners and dual nationals were among those arrested for fomenting unrest and allegedly encouraging a “soft coup.”

Iranian-U.S. scholar Kian Tajbakhsh was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of a role in the protests, his lawyer said Oct. 20.

Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian reporter working for Newsweek, was allowed to fly to London on Oct. 20 after four months in jail.

Farhad Pouladi, an Iranian reporter for Agence France- Presse, was also detained in Tehran on Nov. 4, AFP said. He was released on Nov. 7.

Takeover Anniversary

Iran held celebrations on Nov. 4 to mark the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy, in which 52 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days. The Iranian opposition used the occasion to revive protests over the presidential election.

The trial of a French academic, Clothilde Reiss, 24, who was arrested on July 1, will resume shortly, AFP reported, citing the Tehran prosecutor today. Reiss has been living in the French Embassy since she was freed from jail in mid-August.

Two Canadian reporters and one Japanese were held on Nov. 4 for “unauthorized reporting,” state-run Fars news agency said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net; Ladane Nasseri in Beirut, Lebanon at lnasseri@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 15:10 EST