WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama called on Iran Friday to "immediately release" three American hikers being held by the Islamic republic, saying they never worked for the US government and committed "absolutely no crime."

Obama, ahead of the one-year anniversary Saturday of the hikers` arrests, said the trio were "simply open-minded and adventurous young people who represent the best of America, and of the human spirit."

The hikers -- Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27 -- have "never had any quarrel with the government of Iran, and have great respect for the Iranian people," the US president said.

"I call on the Iranian government to immediately release Sarah, Shane and Josh," he said, adding that their "unjust detention has nothing to do with the issues that continue to divide the United States and the international community from the Iranian government."

Iranian authorities detained the group near the Iraq border during what the trio said was a hiking holiday in the Kurdish mountains of northern Iraq.

BDST:0930 HRS, July 31, 2010