A woman from the United States, who had been held in Iran for more than a year on suspicion of spying, has been released on bail.
Sarah Shourd was handed over to officials of the Swiss embassy in Iran, which represents US interests, after she was freed from jail.
'My client has just been freed from Evin prison,’ confirmed Ms Shourd's lawyer Masoud Shafii.
The Swiss embassy in Tehran said that it did not have confirmation of the release, but a diplomat there added that ‘the release will take place very soon,’ and that Ms Shourd would be leaving Iran later today.
Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic relations since the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi had said on Sunday that Ms Shourd would be released on bail of around $500,000.
She was arrested along with fellow hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal on 31 July 2009 after straying into Iran from Iraq.
Her release could ease the tension between Iran and the US to some extent which has been heightened in recent months over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.
Iranian authorities have accused the three hikers of ‘spying and illegally entering the country,’ charges which the trio have denied, insisting that they mistakenly entered Iran after getting lost during a trek in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Several Iranian officials had claimed that Ms Shourd was to be released on Saturday, but Mr Dolatabadi had ruled it out citing pending legal issues.
Her release finally came after several hiccups which saw the judiciary accusing the government of pushing for her release, while some conservative lawmakers criticised President Ahmadinejad directly for freeing her at a time when tension between Tehran and Washington is at its peak.
