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Iranian Courts Deny 'Imminent Release' of American Hikers

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The two Americans held
Cindy Hickey (L), Shane Bauer's mother, and Laura Fattal, Josh Fattal's mother, hold pictures of their sons. (photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian courts are saying not so fast about the release of two Americans held since 2009. 

This comes after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared on U.S. television yesterday saying the men could be sent home in as few as "two days" if they make bail.

 The L.A. Times reports:

A bail offer for two Americans convicted of spying is still under review, Iran's powerful judiciary said Wednesday in a potentially embarrassing rejection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's prediction that their release could be in a matter of days.

The statement by the hard-line judiciary appears to be a message that only its officials can set the timetables and conditions on any possible release and not the president, who is locked in a bitter power struggle with Iran's ruling clerics who control the courts.

It also could be a swipe at Ahmadinejad's hopes of timing the release the Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal with his expected arrival in New York next week for the U.N. general assembly.

Yesterday NBC aired the interview with Ahmadinejad and the men's families said they were "overjoyed by the report."

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