Good News, American Hikers In Iran | featured news

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the American hikers jailed in Iran on spying charges since 2009, were freed from prison Wednesday and flown to Oman for a joyful reunion with family members. “We’re so happy we are free,” Fattal told reporters at Muscat International Airport in Oman. The 29-year-old Californians and a companion, Sarah Shourd, were arrested in the mountainous region between Iraq and Iran for supposedly crossing the border; their detention further frayed diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran.

Iran's foreign minister says the courts are willing "in near future" to commute the prison sentences for two jailed Americans convicted for spying. Ali Akbar Salehi says Iran's judiciary was ready to cancel the sentences as a gesture of Islamic mercy. But he did not give any clearer indication on when the two men could be released.