WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department Saturday night disputed Iran's contention it was holding an American woman it accused of spying.
"We have located the U.S. citizen who appears to have been the subject of the reports and confirmed that the individual is safe," ABC News quoted State Department spokesman Mark Toner as saying. "She is not in Iran".
ABC said a U.S. official said the woman is in Istanbul, Turkey, and American consular officials have been in contact with her.
Amir-Ahmad Geravand, deputy commander of Iran's national border police, had said Saturday Hal Talaian, 34, was arrested Wednesday near Jolfa along Iran's border with Armenia while allegedly posing as a tourist and filming "advanced equipment". His statement was reported by Iran's state-controlled, Arabic-language, al-Alam television and the semi-official Fars news agency.
Armenian officials denied anyone fitting such a description had entered Armenia or been turned away or arrested at the Iranian border. UPI
