IRAN WILL RELEASE ONE OF three US hostages who have been detained since July 2009 as an act of clemency to mark the end of Ramadan.

The three were detained on suspicion of spying when they illegally crossed the border from Iraq’s Kurdish region into Iran. Their families claim they if they did cross the border, it was by mistake.

Iran’s intelligence minister said in April that the hikers were connected with intelligence agencies.

Iran’s culture ministry sent a text message alerting reporters of the news, and urging them to witness the release in a Tehran hotel on Saturday morning, ABC News reports. Iranian officials have not indicated which of the three will be released.

In May, Sarah Shourd, 31, Shane Bauer, 27, and Josh Fattal, 27, were allowed to meet their mothers in the same hotel during their captivity, as seen in this report:

US State Department spokesperson Mark Toner told AP: “We don’t know, frankly, what Iran is contemplating at this point. If this turns out to be true, this is terrific news. The hikers’ release is long overdue.”

A statement released by their families today said: “We hope and pray that the reports are true and that this signals the end of all three of our children’s long and difficult detention.”

Shourd’s mother has voiced concerns over her daughter’s health, saying that Sarah told her by phone in August that prison officials have denied her requests for medical treatment and she continues to be held in solitary confinement.