US woman who was held in Iran says she's not a spy

Sarah Shourd underscored her gratitude at being released but said she felt only "one-third free" because her fiance, Shane Bauer, and their friend Josh Fattal remain in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison.

"This is not the time to celebrate," Shourd, 32, said in a statement read at a New York news conference. "The only thing that enabled me to cross the gulf from prison to freedom alone was the knowledge that Shane and Josh wanted with all their hearts for my suffering to end."

Shourd travelled to New York after arriving last morning at Dulles International Airport near Washington on a flight from Dubai, the UAE, accompanied by her mother and an uncle.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in New York yesterday to attend the UN General Assembly. He later met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss developments in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East as well as efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, the UN spokesperson's office said.

Ahmadinejad called Shourd's release "a huge humanitarian gesture" in an interview on ABC television's 'This Week with Christiane Amanpour.' He called on the US to release eight Iranians being detained after arrests he said were illegal.

Shourd thanked Iranians and Ahmadinejad in a carefully scripted return that spoke to the continuing delicacy of her situation.Iran has issued espionage-related indictments against her, Bauer and Fattal; the indictments could bring trials for the two men and proceedings in absentia for Shourd.