American hiker wants to meet with Iran president
By Associated Press
Sep 23, 2010 9:53 AM CDT
In this photo provided by Harpo Productions, Inc., talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, right, interviews Sarah Shourd, during taping of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010, at Harpo Studios in Chicago. Shourd was an American hiker who was released after being accused of espionage and held...   (Associated Press)

An American woman held in Iran for more than 13 months and accused of espionage says she wants to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) while he's in New York.

Sarah Shourd (shurd) told talk show host Oprah Winfrey on Thursday that she wants the Iranian leader to know that she has "no animosity towards him or towards any Iranian people."

Shourd and her fiance, Shane Bauer, and their friend Josh Fattal were arrested while hiking near the border of Iraq and Iran. Shourd was released for humanitarian reasons, but the men remain in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison.

Ahmadinejad is in the United States to attend the annual General Assembly of the United Nations this week.

Shourd says "there's just no reason for animosity."