Iran releases jailed US citizen

Iran has released a US-Iranian businessman after keeping him in detention for more than two years, his lawyer told broadcaster CNN.

Iran has released a US-Iranian businessman after keeping him in detention for more than two years, his lawyer told broadcaster CNN.

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Reza Taghavi, 71, was released on Saturday and plans shortly to leave Iran with his family to return to the US, the lawyer said.

Taghavi was arrested in May 2008, accused by Iranian authorities of having given $200 to an organisation hostile to the government in Tehran. He insisted that he had acted on behalf of a Los Angeles acquaintance, who had asked Taghavi to give the money to a friend in need in Tehran.