US hiker set free from Iran but two friends remain in prison

However, Iranian authorities said they were not considering the immediate release of the two Americans arrested with 32-year-old Sarah Shourd.

Iran has charged all three with spying, though their families say they were innocent hikers arrested in a scenic mountain area along Iran’s border with Iraq.

The families of Ms Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal greeted the news of her release with mixed emotions.

“All of our families are relieved and overjoyed that Sarah has at last been released, but were also heartbroken that Shane and Josh are still being denied their freedom for no just cause,” they said in a statement.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Ms Shourd was being released on compassionate grounds because of health reasons. Her mother says she has a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.

“We applaud the Iranian authorities for showing compassion in Sarah’s case and again call on them to do the only right thing and release Shane and Josh immediately,” the families’ statement added.

Tehran’s chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said a $500,000 324,000) bail had been paid to Iran’s Bank Melli in Muscat, Oman, but it was not immediately clear who paid it.

A US official said neither the American government nor the families of the hikers had paid the bail.

n An Iranian diplomat who quit his job at his country’s embassy in Belgium says he will seek political asylum in Norway.

Farzad Farhangian told reporters he wants to “take a stand in support of the Iranian people and the (opposition) movement”. He left his post on Friday and flew to Norway, where he joined Mohammed Reza Heydari, a former Iranian diplomat who also defected.