Iran: Not So Fast on Hiker Release

Hold the ticker tape, because Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal might not be coming home after all. Iran's judiciary posted a statement on its website today denying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's assertion that the Americans were about to be released, though it said that "the request of the lawyer to post bail and free them is being studied by the case's judge," according to the BBC.

It also added that any information about their release not specifically issued by the judiciary "is not valid." Iran's state-run Press TV, meanwhile, quoted an official as saying that the pair would be in prison "a bit longer." Yesterday, Ahmadinejad told the Washington Post that he was personally issuing a "unilateral pardon" to the men, while an Iranian judge said he'd release them on $500,000 bail. (More Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stories.)