Iran in the past has allegedly forced detainees to incriminate themselves publicly on television.

Most recently in March, British sailors detained by Tehran for allegedly entering Iranian territory appeared in videos during their captivity. Britain accused Iran of using the sailors for propaganda by putting them on TV, where they said they trespassed in Tehran's waters. The crew was freed after two weeks.

It was unclear if the program scheduled to air later on state TV would also show the other two Iranian-Americans facing charges: Parnaz Azima, a journalist who works for the US-funded Radio Farda, and Ali Shakeri, a founding board member of the University of California, Irvine, Center for Citizen Peacebuilding. Shakeri is in prison, while Azima is free but barred from leaving Iran.

Speaking from his home in Potomac, Md., Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, said some of the claims made in the video of his wife were "absurd." Esfandiari has never visited Georgia or worked on issues related to the country or Eastern Europe, he said. Her work organizing speakers and academics for conferences is also not in dispute, he said.

"If that is all they can produce, it is pretty thin gruel," Bakhash said.

International human rights groups, including New York-based Human Rights Watch, have expressed deep concern for the health of the detained Americans - especially the 67-year-old Esfandiari.

The Wilson Center has said that Esfandiari, who was arrested while visiting Iran to see her ailing mother, has been held in solitary confinement without access to her family, lawyers or international rights organizations.

The detentions come as Iran has escalated accusations against the United States, saying it has uncovered spy rings organized by the US and its Western allies.

President Bush has demanded that Iran "immediately and unconditionally" release the Iranian-Americans and has denied they were spying for the United States. Bush's remarks have drawn criticism from Iranian officials, who accuse him of interfering in Iran's internal affairs.

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