Iran wants former nuclear plant engineer released from US custody

Iran has called on US officials to immediate release an Iranian-American accused of violating a US trade embargo with Iran by taking to Tehran software from the Arizona nuclear plant where he used to work.

The letter sent by Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday also asked for details of the case against Mohammad Alavi, Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency said. Alavi, a former engineer at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, is being held without bail at a federal detention facility in Arizona pending a July 3 trial. (AP)