Iran Says U.S. Responsible for Lives of Hostages Taken in Syria

Rebels claim the Iranians were members of the Revolutionary Guard. Iran says they were pilgrims.

 Iran said on Tuesday that it was holding the United States responsible for the lives of 48 of its citizens taken hostage in Syria, following an unconfirmed report by a Syrian rebel group that three of them had been killed by shelling. 

The foreign ministry, which transmitted its message through the Swiss embassy in Tehran that handles US interests in the absence of Iran-US diplomatic relations, insisted the 48 were pilgrims, not Revolutionary Guards as the rebels claimed.