Groups demand answers after Iranians say they were detained

GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Civil rights groups and lawmakers were demanding information from federal officials following reports that dozens of Iranian-Americans were held up and questioned at the border as they returned to the United States from Canada over the weekend. In a statement Sunday, the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said more than 60 Iranians and Iranian-Americans were detained and questioned at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Washington. Many were returning from a concert by an Iranian pop star in Vancouver, British Columbia. "Those detained reported that their passports were confiscated and they were questioned about their political views and allegiances,'' the statement said. Tensions between the Unit