Cute Hikers Back In The USA

Iran hikers to arrive in the United States

By the CNN Wire Staff


Josh Fattal, center, Shane Bauer and his fiancée Sarah Shourd wait Saturday in Oman before flying home.

(CNN) -- Two American hikers freed last week from an Iranian prison are expected to arrive in the United States on Sunday.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were released by Iran on Wednesday and were flown to Muscat, Oman's capital, where they enjoyed several days of freedom after more than two years in prison.

They left the Gulf state late Saturday and are expected to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

In statements at Muscat's airport, Bauer and Fattal thanked Omani officials for their hospitality and assistance in securing their release.

"Just hours after we left prison, we were able to swim in the calm waters of the Gulf," Fattal said. "We stayed up all night with our loved ones and watched the most beautiful sunrise we have ever seen. These experiences will be with us for the rest of our lives."

The men were arrested and charged with spying along with Sarah Shourd in July 2009 after apparently straying over an unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran.

Fattal and Bauer, both 29, say they accidentally crossed into Iran when they veered off a dirt road while hiking near a tourist site in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. They appealed their eight-year sentences while serving time in prison.

Shourd was freed almost exactly a year ago on medical grounds. Her release came a week before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations last year. Fattal and Bauer were released a day before Ahmadinejad's address this year.

Shourd and Bauer became officially engaged Friday.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.