Scribes release: Iran leadership split

American officials said Irans handling of the Saberi case underlined a deepening divide within its leadership about how to respond to President Obamas overtures. It also reflects domestic politics a month before Ahmadinejad faces a critical election,according to analysts. Those who are trying to engage the US won out, said an official. There wasnt going to be any major new administration initiative toward Iran without this case resolved.

In her first remarks since her release,Saberi said on Tuesday that she is very happy to be free and reunited with her parents,The Associated Press reported. She thanked those who helped win her release.

Saberi,32,who has lived in Iran since 2003 and worked as a freelance reporter for National Public Radio and the BBC,was reunited with her parents and will return to the US in the coming days,Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Washington. She had originally been arrested for buying a bottle of wine,which is illegal in Iran. The charges were later elevated to working without a press credential and espionage.

We continue to take issue with the charges against her and the verdicts rendered,but we are very heartened that she has been released, said Hillary.

American officials and outside analysts believe Saberis arrest was politically motivated,at a time when the US is reaching out to Iran after nearly three decades of hostility. The Iranian government,some analysts said,sought to use the arrest to gain leverage in talks with the US over its nuclear program and other matters. But with Obama and Hillary taking up Saberis cause,analysts said,the political cost of keeping her in prison may have come to seem too high. The fact that the severity of the charges against her was changed,officials said,illustrated the internal tug-of-war.