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      MUSCAT, Oman (AP) - American Sarah Shourd planned a medical exam
Wednesday for the first appraisal of her health after more than 13
months in an Iranian prison, said Omani officials after the
country's rulers mediated a deal for $500,000 bail to win her
release.

      Shourd has stayed out of the public eye since arriving late
Tuesday aboard a private Omani jet. Her mother - who was waiting at
a special royal airfield - says her 32-year-old daughter has
serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous
cervical cells.


      The Omani officials gave no further details of the planned
medical attention. They spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not cleared to brief media.

      In the United States, a person familiar with Shourd's case
confirmed the plans for a medical exam, but did not elaborate.

      Shourd and two other Americans - her fiance Shane Bauer and
their friend Josh Fattal - were detained along Iran's border with
Iraq in July 2009 and later accused of spying. The two men remain
in a Tehran prison under indictment on espionage-related charges
and could face trial - with proceedings for Shourd in absentia.

      Their families say they were innocent hikers in the scenic
mountains of Iraq's Kurdish region and if they did stray across the
border into Iran, they did so unwittingly.

      The status of Shourd's health has been a centerpiece of the
negotiations for her release since last week when Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said she should be freed on humanitarian
grounds.

      She was eventually released Tuesday after Oman - a key ally of
both Iran and the West - played intermediary for a bail deal that
satisfied Iranian authorities and apparently did not violate U.S.
economic sanctions.

      The source of the bail payment has not been disclosed.


      But Tehran's chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, was
quoted by the semiofficial ISNA news agency say saying amount would
arrive in Iran later this week after the holiday period in Oman to
mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. He gave no other
details, but his comments suggested the bail was in currency and
not a possible barter deal to bypass U.S. sanctions.


      He added that the bail "will be confiscated" if Shourd does
not return for possible trial on spy charges.


      Shourd's attorney, Masoud Shafiei , told The Associated Press
that a "foreign individual paid the bail in Muscat" and insisted
it was "neither a government nor an embassy that paid the bail."


      But he said he did not know the identity.

      Shourd thanked Oman for its role after arriving aboard a jet
chartered by the sultanate.


      Oman shares the strategic Strait of Hormuz with Iran at the
mouth of the Gulf. Nearly 40 percent of the world's oil passes
through the narrow channel. Next month, Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki will visit Oman as part of economic development
meetings between the two countries.

      Oman also maintains close U.S. ties, including arms purchases,
and is a regular stop for high-level Pentagon officials.

      "I'm grateful and I'm very humbled by this moment," Shourd
said before boarding the plane in Tehran for the two-hour flight to
Oman.

      U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed Shourd's
release and "the flexibility of Iranian government." But he also
called for the release of the "remaining two American hikers so
that they could join their families as soon as possible."


      President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton both thanked Oman for its assistance.


      Oman "in recent days and weeks became a key interlocutor to
help us work this case with the Iranian government," State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Tuesday. "And we are very
grateful to the role that Oman has played."

      He could not say whether any money had changed hands in winning
Shourd's release, but noted that "arrangements were made that
satisfied Iranian requirements under their judicial system."


      At the same time, Crowley said the U.S. government had no
information to suggest any U.S. or international sanctions on Iran
had been violated. The sanctions were imposed over Iran's disputed
nuclear program.


      Later, in a message posted on Twitter, Crowley challenged
Ahmadinejad to bring the two other detained Americans back home
when he attends the U.N. General Assembly next week.


      Tehran prosecutor Dowlatabadi fired back that Washington is
"not serious about supporting its citizens" because the U.S.
government would not consider helping pay the bail.


      Shourd smiled and looked relaxed during her whirlwind trip from
prison to the arms of her mother in Oman in just a few hours. But
the full picture of her health has not been made public.


      The plans for her release on health grounds touched off days of
mixed signals in Iran and exposed deep political rifts between
Ahmadinejad's allies and the powerful judiciary, which demanded the
high bail.


      Ahmadinejad is scheduled to travel to New York later this month
to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Some analysts say Shourd's
release could have been timed to deflect the international outcry
over a stoning sentence for a woman convicted of adultery and the
continued crackdown on opposition groups - which led two Iranian
ambassadors in Europe to quit this week and seek asylum.


      Shourd, who grew up in Los Angeles, Bauer, who grew up in
Onamia, Minnesota, and Fattal, who grew up in Elkins Park,
Pennsylvania, were detained on July 31, 2009, and accused of
illegally crossing into Iran and spying. Convictions could bring
sentences of up to 10 years in prison.


      Associated Press writers Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Matthew Lee in Washington
and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
      

Gallery

American woman freed by Iran is grateful, humbled

Omani officials say the American woman
released from an Iranian prison plans to see a doctor on her first
full day of freedom in more than 13 months following a surprise
bail deal.

American freed by Iran plans medical exam in Oman

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