AN IRANIAN court held closed-door proceedings yesterday in the espionage trial of three Americans — two in custody and one freed on bail — whose 18-month detention has been the subject of impassioned family appeals and backdoor outreach by Washington through an Arab ally in the Gulf.

IRAN has ordered an American woman to return to the country and stand trial alongside two other Americans accused of spying.

Iran has ordered an American woman to return to the country and stand trial alongside two other Americans accused of spying.

Iranian authorities have detained a 55-year-old American woman on spying charges, a state-owned newspaper reported today.

AN AMERICAN woman who was held in Iran for more than 13 months and accused of spying returned yesterday to the US.

An American woman released from Iran after more than 13 months in custody began her journey back to the US today after asking her supporters to “extend your prayers” to her fiance and another American man who remain in Tehran accused of spying.

An American woman released by Iran after more than a year in prison flew out of the country tonight to the nearby Gulf nation of Oman to be reunited with her mother.

American Sarah Shourd has been released after more than a year in prison in Iran, television reports in the country claimed today.

The family of an American woman detained in Iran for more than a year is appealing to authorities to drop a $500,000 (€388,500) for her release because they cannot afford it, her lawyer said today.

A senior Iranian prosecutor said today that authorities will release a jailed American woman on $500,000 (€393,000) bail because of health problems, another sudden about-face by Iran in a case that has added to tension with the United States.

IRAN will release one of the three detained American hikers accused of espionage tomorrow, an official said last night.

One of three Americans jailed for more than a year will be released on Saturday, Iran said today.

Three American hikers jailed in Iran met their families today in an emotional reunion for the first time since their arrest 10 months ago.

IRAN said yesterday it would try three Americans jailed since crossing the border from Iraq in July, a step certain to aggravate the US at a time when Tehran is locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear programme.

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Il has issued a “special pardon” for two American journalists and ordered their release at former US president Bill Clinton’s request, North Korean state media reported yesterday.