Iranian diplomat suspected of spying leaves Cairo (AP)

CAIRO – An Iranian diplomat who was arrested by Egyptian security agents on suspicion of spying has left Cairo for Iran.

Qassem al-Husseini, third secretary at Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, was arrested on Saturday and questioned on suspicions of illegally gathering intelligence and trying to set up spy rings in Egypt and Gulf countries, Egypt's state news agency said.

He was released Sunday because of his diplomatic immunity and left Cairo on Monday on an Emirates airline to Dubai.

In an ironic twist, al-Husseini's plane was also carrying a 45-member delegation from the Egyptian-Iranian friendship society, which aims to restore political ties between the countries.

Relations between Iran and Egypt have been frosty since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and Egyptian-Israeli peace accord.

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Gunmen kill Saudi diplomat in Pakistan's Karachi (Reuters)

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed a Saudi diplomat in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday, police and the Saudi ambassador said, the second attack on the mission since the killing of Osama bin Laden increased tension in the region.

Pakistan's Taliban claimed responsibility, and warned the United States against attacking its close ally al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda has waged a bloody campaign to topple the royal family and government of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of its leader bin Laden. The group has also vowed to avenge his killing by U.S. special forces in a Pakistani military town on May 2.

Four people riding motorcycles opened fire on the Saudi diplomat's car, a Karachi police official said. The diplomat, a low ranking security official, was on his way to the consulate when the assailants struck.

Pakistan's interior minister condemned the attack and ordered Karachi authorities to provide "complete security" to Saudi nationals stationed in the city, where analyst say militants generate funds through extortion and robberies.

"We condemn this attack. No one who carries out this kind of attack can be a Muslim," the Saudi ambassador, Abdul Aziz al-Ghadeer, told Reuters. Four bullets were fired and one struck the diplomat in the head, said senior Karachi police official Iqbal Mehmood.

The Saudi state news agency named the diplomat as Hassan al-Qahtani and described his killing as a "criminal attack." It said Saudi officials would investigate the shooting alongside the Pakistani authorities.

The shooting, which a Saudi embassy official said occurred about 60 meters (200 feet) from the consulate, came days after unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at the consulate in Pakistan's commercial hub. No one was hurt in that attack.

Saudi Arabia, one of the United States' most strategic allies, is the world biggest oil exporter and any signs that its security is threatened could move global oil prices.

A Saudi Interior Ministry official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters in Dubai that security would be stepped up to protect Saudi diplomats living in "dangerous" areas.

FUNDING EXTREMISM?

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long been close allies and Islamabad needs all the support it can get after the discovery of bin Laden embarrassed the South Asian country.

"We trust the Pakistani authorities and hope they will identify the terrorists and bring them to justice," ambassador al-Ghadeer said.

Before claiming responsibility for the shooting, Pakistan's Taliban had described Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as American "slaves" and hailed the attack as a "very good job."

Saudi Arabia has its own internal security to worry about, not just the safety of diplomats who may be targeted.

Militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda attacked Western targets, government sites and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, between 2003 and 2006.

The operations included suicide bombings at Western housing compounds, the Saudi Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital Riyadh and petrochemicals companies.

Saudi Arabia responded with a largely successful security crackdown in 2007 and 2010, arresting more than 170 suspects, including some trainee pilots preparing for suicide attacks.

Analysts, however, suggested Saudi policy in Pakistan backfired.

Saudi Arabia, which is home to the fundamentalist Wahhabi brand of Islam, is seen as funding some of Pakistan's hardline religious seminaries which churn out young men eager for holy war, posing a long-term threat to the stability of the region.

"The Saudis have led a pretty successful campaign to root out al Qaeda and its extremists in Saudi Arabia over the last decade or so," said Salman Shaikh, director of Brookings Doha Center, a policy research institute.

"I have to say that Saudi Arabia has had a mixed history in Pakistan as well. Many have accused it or certainly elements of its religious establishment of financing extremist education (in Pakistan) over the years."

(Additional reporting by Imtiaz Shah in Karachi, Kamran Haider, Chris Allbritton and Robert Birsel in Islamabad, Amena Bakr and Cynthia Johnston in Dubai and Yaw Yan Chong in SINGAPORE; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Trial of U.S. hikers in Iran delayed again, diplomat says

Shane Bauer (left) and Josh Fattal have been detained in Iran since their arrest during a 2009 hiking trip near the Iranian border.The trial is postponed after the suspects are not brought from prison to court "There were no reasons given why they were not brought in," a diplomat says The defense attorney says he doesn't know when the trial will resumeThe hikers' families say the development is "extremely troubling"

(CNN) -- The scheduled trial of two Americans accused of espionage in Iran was delayed again Wednesday after the suspects were not brought from prison to the courthouse, a Swiss diplomat and their defense attorney told CNN.

"I have been able to verify that the session has actually been postponed due to the absence of the two prisoners. They were not brought in from prison," said an official with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, who, according to protocol, asked not to be identified. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were set to stand trial on Wednesday. The two were charged with espionage after being arrested nearly 22 months ago while hiking along an unmarked border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. The two Americans were expected to appear in Branch 15 of Tehran's Revolutionary court Wednesday morning.

"There were no reasons given why they were not brought in," the diplomat said. Iranian authorities once again barred Swiss diplomats from monitoring the proceedings.

"Shane and Josh were not brought up from the jail to the courtroom today," said defense attorney Masoud Shafii. He said he also does not know the reason for the postponement, but does not believe it was because a third hiker released on bail, Sarah Shourd, did not return to Iran for proceedings.

The families of Bauer and Fattal issued a statement saying they also do not know why the two were not brought to court, "but we are even more deeply concerned for their health and welfare as a result of their non-appearance.

"Their unexplained absence from the hearing, and the fact that their lawyer, Mr. Masoud Shafii, continues to be denied access to Shane and Josh, is extremely troubling," the statement said.

The hikers' trial began in February, but was delayed until Wednesday.

Shafii told CNN Tuesday he had yet to be granted a private meeting with his clients.

"What I hope is that the court comes to a decision," Shafii said. "This case must be closed. It has gone on long enough."

On Wednesday, Shafii said he will continue to request a meeting with his clients.

"I am not sure when the next court date will be set," he said. "I now must wait for a letter from the court with the new date. I am hoping it will be soon. They (Bauer and Fattal) have already served time that was not warranted."

He said the judiciary, not prison authorities, is responsible for getting the defendants to court, and he has filed a formal complaint.

Human rights organizations have launched direct appeals to Iranian officials calling for the Americans' release.

"The endless prosecution of the two hikers appears to be little more than a political jab at the United States," said Sarah Leah Whitson of the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch. "This case highlights the cruel and arbitrary nature of the Iranian justice system."

In a separate statement, Amnesty International's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said the Iranian justice system "has systematically failed to observe international fair trial standards in this case, including giving the men adequate contact with their lawyer, families or consular assistance."

The third U.S. citizen who was arrested with the men on the border in 2009 and accused of spying has refused to attend Wednesday's scheduled court hearing after being released on bail last year.

Iranian authorities allowed Sarah Shourd, Bauer's fiancee, to leave the country on "humanitarian grounds" after she paid a $500,000 bail.

Shourd said she would not return because she suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder after spending 14 months in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

In an essay published this week in The New York Times, Shourd wrote that Fattal and Bauer's cell "contains two beds, a sink, a toilet, a shower and an empty space about the size of a large beach towel. With fluorescent lights continuously kept on, Josh and Shane never enjoy the luxury of darkness; in order to sleep at night they have to tie a shirt around their eyes."

An Iranian prosecutor said investigators found "compelling evidence" that all three Americans were spies.

Suspects convicted on espionage charges can face the death penalty in Iran. All three have maintained their innocence.

"They were strictly travelers who were near an unmarked border that no one would be able to know whether it was Iraq or Iran," defense lawyer Shafii has said.

"Today's development appears to be yet another example of the arbitrary treatment Shane and Josh have been subjected to for more than 21 months," their families said in their statement. "The Iranian authorities continue to play games with their lives and the constant uncertainty and fear for Shane and Josh is ruining our lives as well. The charges against Shane and Josh are baseless. As we have said all along, there is no reason to put Shane and Josh on trial."

The picturesque mountain border region where the Americans were detained is a popular picnic and camping destination for Iraqi Kurds. The border is also porous. Smugglers regularly cross the frontier on donkeys and horseback, bringing fuel to Iraq and alcohol into the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report.

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