IRAN HAS REPORTEDLY released an American woman who has been detained in prison for over a year on suspicion of spying.

Sarah Shourd was arrested by Iranian authorities near the Iran-Iraq border on 31 July 2009 along with two other Americans, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.

The Washington Post reports that Iran’s state broadcaster, Press TV reported on Tuesday that Shourd, who has serious health problems, has been released.

The Iranian government were previously reported to be demanding almost $500,000 (5 billion Iranian Rial, €375,000) to release the woman on bail.

The Shourd family said they could not afford to post bail. The US government refused as it is currently applying sanctions on Iran over the country’s nuclear programme.

Shourd’s mother has told the media that her daughter had been held in solitary confinement since her arrest. She said that she had a lump on her breast and precancerous cells in her cervix.

The BBC reports that a cameraman for US network NBC has confirmed he saw Shourd leaving prison in Tehran on Tuesday.