国际英语新闻：Obama "deeply disappointed" by Iran's sentencing of American journalist

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama, who is here for a regional summit, is "deeply disappointed" by Iran's sentencing of an American-Iranian journalist, the White House said Saturday.

    Roxana Saberi, who had worked for some international news organizations in Iran for years, was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Iranian court on Saturday on charges of spying for the United States.

    Responding to the court decision, Obama's adviser Denis McDonough said that Saberi was simply practicing journalism, adding that the administration is working with Swiss diplomats in Iran to ensure Saberi's well-being.

    The 31-years-old journalist is reportedly one of three Americans detained or believed missing in Iran.

    Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, accompanying Obama for the summit, said here on Saturday that the administration would continue "raise concerns" to Tehran over the issue of Saberi.

    "I am deeply disappointed by the reported sentencing of Roxana Saberi by the Iranian judiciary. We will continue to vigorously raise our concerns to the Iranian government," Clinton said in a statement.

    Saberi was arrested in late January for working in Iran without valid press credentials. But earlier this month, Iranian authorities announced espionage charges against Saberi, saying she used journalism as a cover to pass classified information to U.S. intelligence services.

    The United States has rejected the espionage charges as "baseless."

    "We're deeply concerned about the Iranian government announcement that Roxana Saberi has been charged with espionage," State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said last Thursday at a press briefing.

    "This charge is baseless. It's without foundation. And what we want to see Iran do is release Roxana Saberi so she can go back to her family."