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      MUSCAT, Oman (AP) - Oman's foreign minister said Friday he's not
aware of any plans for Iran to release two other Americans still
being held there, but that his country stands willing to act as an
intermediary between Tehran and Washington.


      The Gulf sultanate played a key role in helping mediate the
release of American Sarah Shourd from Iran on Tuesday. Two other
Americans with whom she was arrested last year - Shane Bauer and
Josh Fattal - are still being held in a Tehran prison on espionage
charges.


      Their families say Shourd's departure from Iran gives them hope
the two men might also be freed. The Americans' mothers are calling
on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to bring their sons with
him when he comes to New York for the United Nations General
Assembly next week.


      But Oman's foreign minister, Yusuf bin Alawai bin Abdullah, said
there was no indication any deal is in the works.


      "We would like to help and find ways and means to help," he
said by phone from the southern Omani city of Salalah. But he
added, "at this moment there are no plans" for the other
prisoners to be released.


      In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told
reporters the U.S. is "absolutely committed to the return of Josh
and Shane," and appealed to Tehran to let them go.


      "These two young men have been held without cause now for more
than a year. It would be a very significant humanitarian gesture
for the Iranians to release them as well," Clinton said.


      She also said spoke with the men's parents Thursday to reassure
them about efforts to bring their sons home.


      State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley later said Clinton spoke
with Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, by telephone and thanked
him for his nation's role in securing Shourd's release. They also
discussed the two remaining jailed Americans.


      "They agreed to stay engaged and to work cooperatively to do
everything possible to bring about the release of Shane Bauer and
Josh Fattal," Crowley said.


      To help secure Shourd's freedom, Oman, which is considered an
ally by both Washington and Tehran, played intermediary for a
$500,000 bail that satisfied Iranian authorities and apparently did
not violate U.S. economic sanctions on Iran.


      The 32-year-old Shourd left Tehran for Muscat aboard a royal
Omani jet late Tuesday.


      American and Omani officials say she has been in Oman since. She
has not been seen publicly since the night of her arrival.


      Bin Alawai declined to say who in Oman posted the bail payment,
or even confirm whether any money changed hands.


      "That was worked out," he said, adding that "neither party
wants to disclose" how the bail payment was handled.


      The three Americans were detained along Iran's border with Iraq
in July 2009 and later accused of spying. Their families say the
Americans 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.


      Bauer and Fattal remain in Tehran's Evin Prison and could soon
face trial. Convictions on the spy charges they face could bring
sentences of up to 10 years in prison.


      Oman has acted as a behind-the-scenes mediator between Tehran
and Washington for years, giving it a unique perspective on the two
adversaries' points of view.


      The sultanate has in the past allowed the U.S. military access
to air bases for refueling, logistics and storage. But it also is
in close contact with nearby Iran, with which it shares control of
the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the
world's oil tanker traffic passes.


      Bin Alawai said he believed there are now "great
possibilities" to repair relations between the United States and
Iran.


      To help restore ties, he urged American officials to tone down
what is seen as harsh rhetoric directed at Iran.

      "The rhetoric does not necessarily help. You see we have a
different culture, but a common interest, in this region," he
said.


      "Our policy," he added, "is not to push our friends to
confrontations."


      Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report
from Washington.

Gallery

Freed American stays out of spotlight in Oman

Mothers hope 2 hikers released soon from Iran

"These two young men have been held without cause now for more than a year," Clinton said Friday, appealing to Tehran to release Shane Bauer, a  native of Minnesota, and Josh Fattal.

Clinton: U.S. 'committed to the return' of detained hikers

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