Freed hikers headed home

MUSCAT, Oman — Two Americans freed from an Iranian prison told reporters Saturday they were “eager to go home” just before boarding their flight to the U.S. from Oman, the Gulf state that helped mediate their release after more than two years in custody on accusations of spying.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were scheduled to arrive home on Sunday, according to Samantha Topping, a spokeswoman for their families. The two were released from Tehran’s Evin prison under a $1 million bail deal and arrived in Oman on Wednesday in the first leg of their journey home. There they were reunited with joyful relatives.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry called their release a gesture of Islamic mercy.

Before boarding the plane in the Omani capital Saturday night, the men made brief statements and thanked Oman’s ruler for helping secure their release.

“We hope to someday return to this wonderful country, but for now we are eager to go home at last,” Fattal said.

Sarah Shourd, who was arrested with the men along the Iran-Iraq border but released a year ago, was also in Oman and returning home with them and their families.

Bauer proposed marriage to Shourd while they were in jail.

The Americans denied the Iranian accusations and said they were just hiking in northern Iraq’s scenic Kurdish region when they might have unknowingly crossed the unmarked border with Iran in July 2009.

Bauer told reporters Saturday that he won’t forget the feeling of seeing their loved ones waiting for them in Oman.

“The joy of embracing them all after so long will stay with us forever,” Bauer said.

The plane was due to depart shortly after their statements, but reporters were denied access to the airport runway to see the plane take off.