I have never looked at the detention of the American hikers as anything but hostage-taking. Iran has had past experience with this: in the first years of the Islamic Republic, the Government brazenly broke international laws and held American diplomats and citizens. It is a strategy that has paid off in the past, and to the leaders in Tehran, it is a tried and tested method of getting back at their adversaries.

And so Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's US media tour begins, only hours after he arrived in New York. The first interview was with Christiane Amanpour of ABC News's This Week:

Masoud Shafii, the lawyer for the US detainees Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal, has said he is upset at the delay in Shourd s release, declaring that her family s emotions are being abused . Shafii said, Put yourself in her mother s shoes. It s been more than year and she has no idea why her daughter was arrested and what will happen to her. The lawyer continued, "There's obviously a difference of opinion as to what to do within the government. Legally the prosecutor has the final say in this matter, but I ask you, has anything about their arrests and treatment been legal so far?"