The letter was signed by Democratic whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, as well as the top Democrats on the House judiciary, intelligence, armed services, foreign affairs and oversight committees.
Corrupt political establishments in the Balkans control the judiciary, intelligence, police, economy and the media, and have ties to organized crime.
Leaders of the Revolutionary Guards, judiciary, and intelligence community are personally sanctioned.
Decisions on blocking are made by a committee of government officials, members of the judiciary and intelligence services.
Such crackdowns are carried out by the country's hardline judiciary and intelligence apparatus that operate independently of Rouhani's government.
Prisoners can be held by different bodies – the judiciary, the intelligence ministry, the police or even the revolutionary guards – and might wait weeks before seeing a judge.
The regime's repression carried out by the judiciary, the intelligence agencies, and the Revolutionary Guards—has recently started targeting a new generation.
Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah and a senior member of the judiciary and intelligence committees, acknowledged that the five counts against Mr. Libby were serious.
In resisting pressure for a wider inquiry, he risks the ire of influential Democratic lawmakers on Congressional judiciary and intelligence committees and core constituencies who hoped his election would cast a spotlight on President Bush's antiterror efforts.
Senator John Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat who serves on the judiciary and intelligence committees, put it bluntly, saying, "It's critically important that the people who issue visas have the information about who the bad guys are.
"The two detained Americans accused of spying must await trial by the judiciary," the intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, told reporters from IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency, on Friday, adding that evidence held by Iranian intelligence agencies would be handed over to the court.
