Ahmadinejad Says He Will Pardon Jailed Americans

Bauer and Fattal, along with their companion Sarah Shourd, who has already been released, were arrested by Iranian border guards while hiking along the border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan in July 2009. An Iranian court convicted Bauer and Fattal of espionage this August, sentencing them to eight years in prison.

The Washington Post reports that Ahmadinejad says he will release 2 imprisoned Americans:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with the Washington Post, said that that he would issue a pardon for Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two Americans imprisoned in Iran on charges of espionage.

Ahmadinejad said that he would grant the release of the Americans in "a couple of days."

But there may be a catch: according to the Washington Post article, Ahmadinejad's decision could be overturned by the Muslim clerics.

It should only be that those clerics should overturn some of Ahmadinejad's other decisions.

But don't expect any real reassurance from Ahmadinejad who, when asked, replied, "I hope so. I hope I will do that."

So now we wait.
And while Ahmadinejad describes this as a "unilateral humanitarian gesture," I wonder just how unilateral such a gesture might be.

Technorati Tag: Iran and Ahmadinejad.