On June 11, U

On June 11, U.S. and Israeli officials called for the immediate release of the 13, saying the charges were unfounded. "We interpret your unhappiness with us as proof of our intellectual maturity. You will be happy with us once we agree to (be) your slaves, but Iran is an independent country and will not surrender to you," Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi said. There were also reactions in France and in Italy, where Sen. Pietro Milio and the Hon. Marco Taradash asked the Government to take action to prevent the death sentences from being carried out. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was quoted as rejecting an Iranian offer to release the 13 Jews in exchange for Israel's agreement to pay old debts, for oil sales, which predate Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Since then, some 200,000 Jews have emigrated; about 25,000 remain in Iran.