Iranian courts said on Wednesday the release on bail of two American nationals offender of intelligence was not imminent, country media stated, refusing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pronouncement that they will be released after few weeks.
Spectators say the distinction amongst the judiciary's announcements and Ahmadinejad's pledge underlines a rift between Iran's government hard-line leaders, developing by Ahmadinejad's doubtful 2009 re-election and the demonstrations which followed.
The announcement is also a sign of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's influential status in the Islamic state's complex political formation, analysts say.
"Ahmadinejad's statement could not be made without taking a green signal from the leader ... however, the court's move prompted the president of his constraints," said analyst Saeed Monfared.
"Khamenei is a very sharp politician ... who keeps away from transferring power to others too much ... the two will be released but not at the time declared by Ahmadinejad."
Ahmadinejad had told U.S. media that the two would be released "in a couple of days," in what he described a humanitarian sign immediately ahead of his visit to the United Nations in New York.
But Iran's country TV referred a court announcement as saying, "The two US citizens are going to stay in jail for a bit longer. Reports of their imminent free are bogus."
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were detained in July 2009 near Iran's border with Iraq, where they say they were climbing in the mountains as tourists, together with a third American, Sarah Shourd. She was permitted home on $500,000 bail in September 2010.
Their lawyer said on Tuesday the two guys, who were got punished last month to eight years imprisonment, would be freed on $500,000 bail each. They share a cell in Tehran's Evin jail.
The court said Bauer and Fattal's free on bail was under evaluation and "circulating information in this regard by others than judiciary officers are not trustworthy."
Washington has rejected they were secret agent. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was optimistic by Ahmadinejad's statement.
The liberation of the two US citizens could alleviate the mounting stress between Tehran and Washington, which also asserts the Islamic country is endeavoring to produce nuclear bombs and has imposed sanctions on Iran.
Tehran rejects this, announcing its nuclear program is only meant at producing power and has until now denied freezing its sensitive nuclear work.
