After five months of investigation, The Nation broke an exclusive story this week revealing that, according to two eye-witnesses, three American hikers arrested on charges of espionage by Iranian authorities nearly a year ago were in fact unlawfully apprehended on Iraqi soil. The witnesses watched as uniformed Iranian guards tried to wave the hikers toward the Iranian side of the border, and when the hikers did not comply, proceeded to arrest them on the Iraqi side, where the guards have no jurisdiction.

Another aspect of the case revealed in The Nation‘s story is that the Revolutionary Guards officer suspected of having ordered the hikers’ detention has since been arrested on charges of smuggling, kidnapping and murder. Nation Senior Editor Richard Kim appears on CNN explaining these breaking developments.

—Carrie Battan