TEHRAN, Iran — The mothers of three Americans jailed in Iran for 10 months left for home Friday, getting one last chance to embrace their children but failing to secure their immediate release.
In a glimmer of hope, Iran announced that two of its nationals held in Iraq by U.S. forces for years were freed Friday. The release raised the possibility that a behind-the-scenes swap was in the offing or that their release was a gesture of goodwill in an attempt to free the Americans.
The Iranians’ release “may have some diplomatic effect on this case,” said the Americans’ attorney, Masoud Shafii.
The U.S. has said it is not offering a direct swap, and Iranian officials made no public connection between the freed Iranians and the Americans.
Sarah Shourd, 31, her boyfriend, Shane Bauer, 27, and Josh Fattal, 27, were arrested in July along the Iran-Iraq border, and Iran has accused them of espionage. Their families say the three were hiking in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region and that if they crossed the border, it was accidental.
The mothers — Nora Shourd, Cindy Hickey and Laura Fattal — had hoped to make a face-to-face appeal for their children’s release to Iranian leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Shafii said the mothers “were willing to stay longer” to meet with Iranian officials but “the conditions were not right.”
On Friday, the three hikers were brought to their mothers’ private rooms for several hours. Afterward, the mothers were driven to the airport. Their children were taken back to prison, witnesses said.
